PreDest 2: When Mom's Away the Demons Will Play
by Twin-Swords
Summary: PreDestined Story 2. ChrisWyattcentric. Sequel to A Handful of Stones. The boys are grounded while Piper and Leo head to NYC to open a new restaurant. But that's not going to stop them from going to a concert in Sweden! COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Charmed, or any of its characters… I just wish I did.

**Author's Note**: This story is actually growing from a seed sparked in conversation with the "other half of my brain" _strikermac_. I can't claim the original idea, it's hers, so, we'll call this story a collaborated effort between the two halves of our unified brain. This story takes place a few months after Chris's recovery in my other "teenage years" story A Handful of Stones. Chris is 16 and Wyatt is 18.

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Piper Halliwell sat silently in the desk chair in her eldest son's room with her arms crossed over her chest and a far too calm expression on her face. The alarm clock next to the teenager's rumpled bed read 2:35 am. The door to the room creaked and Piper looked up, ready to lay into her sons only to discover that it was her husband, Leo.

"Your sons," Piper stated placidly.

"I'm sure they are fine Piper," Leo said, stepping further into the room. The man raised an eyebrow when he saw the pillows that had been tucked under the covers with the obvious intention of making it appear someone was laying in the bed.

"I'm glad you're sure," Piper sniped softly, "They could be lying dead in the underworld for all we know. You know those three use it as their own personal playground."

Piper looked at her watch, "Five more minutes and I call Paige."

Just then a swirl of blue and white lights appeared right next to the bed, forming into the figures of two teenage boys. Wyatt was slumped heavily against Chris, completely passed out and the younger brother was the only thing holding him up.

"Christopher Perry and Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, it is a _school_ night," Piper said in a low and dangerous voice when she heard the jingle of orbs, "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Chris sucked in a breath through his teeth when he saw his parents in the room and winced. "Mom!"

"Is he hurt?" Piper demanded with a flash of worry when she saw the state that her eldest son was in. She leapt to her feet and crossed the room towards her sons. Leo moved from the doorway right behind her.

"Not really," Chris said, looking sheepishly at his parents and back to Wyatt.

Piper's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she leaned towards them. The strong scent of alcohol met her nostrils and her eyes went wide in anger. "He's _drunk!_ Where were you?"

"There was a band playing at this bar we wanted to see. They only check I.D.'s at the door, so…"

"Orb him to the bed and go to your room. Now," Piper said with a note of finality. Chris hastily orbed his brother into the bed and bolted past his parents to his own room. Piper turned to look at Leo, her lips compressed into a thin line. One of Wyatt's arms hung over the side of the bed, but he didn't seem to care as he started to snore softly.

"_Your_ sons," she repeated to Leo.

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The next afternoon, after a long morning with his head pounding while he had to endure his Friday classes, Wyatt was laying on his bed in his room. They had both been grounded. Piper had sentenced them both to their rooms. "Grounded until further notice." He knew he wasn't supposed to be, but Wyatt was on his phone talking to his best friend when the jingle of orbs caught his attention. He lifted his eyebrows and looked towards his little brother standing there holding something in his hands.

"I gotta go, see you tomorrow," Wyatt said into the receiver, sitting up and dropping the phone back into the cradle. He asked Chris, "Did you get them?"

Chris's face split into a wide beaming grin of happiness as he triumphantly held up three tickets. "I got them. Front row, center stage."

Wyatt laughed and got off of his bed, "D.J. said you'd never get them."

"Just don't ask how I got them. I mean, I bought them and all, but had to do some fast-talking with these pretty little Swedish girls to get them. By the way, we have dates for the concert," Chris said, with a fiery blush creeping suddenly into his cheeks.

"Christopher Perry Halliwell!" Piper's voice bellowed. Chris's blush vanished and color drained from his face.

"Your jacket," Chris threw it at Wyatt and hid the tickets in Wyatt's desk. He quickly sat down in the chair and spun it around to face the door, plastering an innocent smile on his face. Wyatt caught his jacket just as the door flew open.

"Where are you supposed to be?" Piper asked from the doorway.

"My room," Chris said.

"And where are you?" Piper asked.

"Wyatt's room," Chris answered, then the sixteen-year-old smoothly added, "But technically this used to be my room too, so technically I'm still _in_ my room." He was trying to charm her and both he and Wyatt knew that he had failed miserably. Wyatt smiled while their mother glared.

"You come home drunk and think this little game is funny," Piper said.

"I wasn't drunk mom, I was the designated orber," Chris delivered in complete seriousness. Wyatt had no idea how his little brother could keep a straight face while he said that. Wyatt certainly couldn't have done it. Then again Wyatt couldn't stop the snorting snicker that culminated into him bursting into outright laughter just hearing his brother say it.

"To your room, _now_," Piper snapped. Clearly their mother didn't find it quite so amusing.

Chris smiled and hurried out of the room, while Wyatt was still trying to stifle his amusement at his brother's sarcastic comment.

Once he was out, Piper rounded on Wyatt, "You think that it's funny that you came home drunk? What if something happened to Chris?"

Wyatt's mother knew which nerve to strike at and Wyatt stood up. Even with his grand advantage in height, his mother still managed somehow to make it seem like it was _her_ looking down at _him_. Still, Wyatt protested defensively. He would _never_ let something happen to his little brother if he could help it. "I was looking after him mom."

"You were _drunk!!!_" Piper bellowed, causing Wyatt to sit back on his bed and cringe.

"Wyatt!!!" Chris screamed in a desperately shrill cry from the room next door.

Wyatt's cringe turned into a grimace as he felt the sharp pain in his stomach sear agonizingly through him. The only thing was that it wasn't his pain he was feeling. He leapt to his feet and brushed past his still outraged, but now startled mother, and ran from the room in time to see the Darklighter shooting a second arrow. This one sunk into Chris's ribs. Wyatt's heart sank when he saw his brother crumple to the floor and he very nearly followed him with the waves of pain radiating through their link. Eyes narrowing, Wyatt lifted his hands, ready to dispatch the Darklighter.

His mother beat him to the punch. Piper brushed past Wyatt, putting herself between her son and the Darklighter protectively. She flung her hands out and blew the demon into dust. Immediately she dropped next to her youngest son and rolled him over so she could pull the arrows out. "Heal him quick."

His mother didn't even have to say it, Wyatt dropped down next to his brother, his hands going out to be held over the two wounds. He waited, holding his breath for the healing glow to come. He only let the breath out once the golden light appeared and Chris's injuries began knitting themselves back together. The color finally returned to Chris's cheeks and the dark-haired teen groaned softly.

"You okay, bro?" Wyatt asked.

Chris's eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up with Wyatt's help, "He was waiting for me."

Piper shook her head, "Oh, no. I will _not_ have them coming into your rooms to kill you. The alarms are going back up." She stood up and walked towards the door to leave the room.

"Mom, we're a little old for demon alarms, that's for babies," Chris said to his mother's back. She didn't stop, just walked out of the room and headed towards the attic to get the box of crystals. Once Piper got an idea into her head there was no talking her out of it if she didn't want to be talked out of it. At least Chris and Wyatt had both gotten it honest. Chris looked at Wyatt, lowering his voice, "You been to the underworld recently?"

Wyatt shook his head, also keeping his voice lowered, "No, you?"

"Huh-uh," Chris said, "So why did they attack here? I thought they learned their lesson after the last time."

"Looks like we need to check this out and soon," Wyatt said. He climbed to his feet and offered Chris a hand.

"After the concert?" Chris asked with a small grin as he took Wyatt's hand.

"After the concert," Wyatt agreed, "Let's just hope you being turned into a pin cushion doesn't make Mom change her plans… otherwise, there won't be any concert."

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"Hello!" Victor called into the Manor as he walked into the front door. He smiled as he saw the suitcases waiting in the foyer and walked around them. He was about to spend the weekend with his two teenaged grandsons and had been looking forward to it since his eldest daughter had called to see if he could stay with them. Keep an eye on them. It wasn't like they needed a baby sitter any longer, but Victor still enjoyed the time with them. "I'm here! Where is everyone?"

Piper walked into the foyer with a box of crystals in her hand, "The boys are in their rooms where they are supposed to stay. They're both grounded."

"Grounded?" Victor asked, following his eldest daughter as she placed the crystals one by one strategically around the house.

"Yes. Grounded. Apparently, they decided to orb themselves into a nightclub last night to hear a band and so that Wyatt could get drunk," Piper said, to which Victor raised his eyebrows, fighting down a smile so that Piper wouldn't see. Piper continued as she finished placing the last crystal, "They are under strict orders to stay in their rooms except for meals. No phone. No friends. No television. No stereo. No leaving the house. When I say their rooms, I mean their _separate_ rooms, Dad. That's part of their punishment."

"What's with the crystals?" Victor asked, "Don't you think that's taking the house arrest thing a bit too far?"

"Demonic alarm system," Piper told him, "Chris was attacked in his bedroom an hour ago."

She was moving into the kitchen now and Victor followed her. She busied herself pulling several vials out and arranging them on the counter, "I have half a mind to cancel this trip and postpone the opening of the new restaurant so that Leo and I can stay here… LEO!" She shouted up to the ceiling, and then went right back to talking to her father, "He's stalling because he doesn't want to get on a plane again. Last time there was terrible turbulence and he gripped the armrests with a death grip the entire flight. All right, I've got potions here in case of demon attacks. If you need more Chris can make them. He can leave his room for that if it becomes necessary. Do _not_ let Wyatt try to make potions, no matter how much he begs. He nearly blew up the Manor the last time, so all of his potion making attempts must be strictly supervised until further notice. LEO!"

"I'm coming!" his voice called from upstairs.

Victor winced when she shouted again, but ended it in eyeing the potions dubiously and trying to take in all of her instructions. He heard footsteps moving upstairs and coming down the stairs along with the thumps of something heavy.

"What did you put in this one? Lead?" Victor heard Leo's voice call from the other room.

Piper wasn't finished giving her instructions. She handed victor a notepad with several phone numbers on it, "This is the number for the hotel we'll be staying at in New York. This one is for the restaurant where we'll be most of the time we're there. This one is my cell phone in case you can't reach us at either. Phoebe and Paige can help out if you need them, you know their numbers or you can just yell for Paige…"

Victor interrupted her, resting his hands on her shoulders and smiled at her, "It'll be fine honey. You and Leo catch your plane. I've got the boys covered."

"You call for Paige if anything goes wrong and send her to get me immediately," Piper said, "I left a casserole in the fridge with instructions for reheating it."

"Piper, as much as I don't want to fly, if we don't leave soon, we're going to miss our plane!" Leo called from the other room.

"Go," Victor said, hugging his daughter, "You don't want to miss your flight. I love you."

"Love you too, thanks Dad," Piper said. She cast a worried glance upstairs, then sighed and walked out of the kitchen to help Leo load up the car so they could leave. Victor looked at the potions on the counter once she had stepped out of the room and picked one up, examining it in the light. He made a face.

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**Author's Note**: Not really going to be updating this story until after I'm finished with Handful of Stones and The Crucible, but _strikermac_ and I are working on it in the background. :) This is just to give you guys a sneak preview and a taste of what's to come!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Charmed, or any of its characters… I just wish I did.

**Author's Note**: This story is actually a collaboration with the "other half of my brain" Jennifer (_strikermac_ to those of you on TCS Forums). This story takes place a few months after Chris's recovery from my other "teenage years" story A Handful of Stones. Chris is 16 and Wyatt is 18. And like my other story is a prequel to my Destined series.

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"Chris! Wyatt!" Piper hollered up the stairs, "We're getting ready to leave, come down for a minute. Your grandfather's here."

"What? You mean we're allowed to leave our rooms?" Chris asked, poking his head out. Wyatt grinned at him as he emerged from his room and the two of them walked down the stairs together to see their parents off. Halfway down the stairs, both of them affected satisfyingly guilty looks. The convincing looks of guilt vanished when the two boys saw their grandfather. "Grandpa!" Chris exclaimed happily, grabbing the man in a hug.

"Hey Grandpa!" Wyatt said, repeating the same hug as Chris, only nearly lifting Victor from the ground. Piper crossed her arms over her chest and waited for her sons to finish greeting her father.

"You're allowed to leave your rooms to tell your Dad and I goodbye," Piper said, pulling first her youngest and then her oldest into hugs and kissing their cheeks. Leo attempted to give them hugs next, which Chris stiffly accepted from his father with a wrinkled nose. Wyatt took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. Chris elbowed him and shot him a look and with a sigh, Wyatt hugged his father too but he wasn't happy about it.

"You boys are going to be good for your grandfather. Do you understand me?" Piper asked. Both of the boys nodded in response. "That means what he says goes. No friends. No phone. No television. No stereo. No computer. No video games. No leaving the house. No leaving your room. _Separate Rooms,_" she specified, giving Chris a pointed look.

Victor held his face in a neutral expression as his daughter read off the rather extensive list of rules. She was still going and Leo was looking at his watch. "I would think that you are both old enough and responsible enough for me not to have to temporarily bind your powers as punishment to make sure you follow the rules, but your behavior last night proves otherwise. The _only_ reason I'm _not_ doing it, is because I'm going out of town and you may have to defend yourselves and your grandfather. No magic unless you have to. No spells. No powers. I'm going to repeat this for you so that it's crystal clear. No, and I mean absolutely no, orbing. Not unless it is a life or death situation. You can leave your rooms for meals, but that's it. I want you to sit in them and think about what you've done until I get back Sunday night. Got it?"

"Yes m'am," both boys said in unison.

"Good," Piper said, hugging them both again, "I'm going to call to check on you and your grandfather later, so you had better be on your best behavior. I love you. I'm very disappointed in you, but I love you."

"Love you too, Mom," Chris said, hugging her tightly.

Wyatt took his turn next; wrapping his arms around his mom, "Love you."

Piper hugged her father and then with one last chocolate-eyed look at her two teenaged sons, followed Leo out to the car. As the door shut behind her, and they heard the car start up and pull out of the driveway Victor turned with a grin to his two grandsons. Both Chris and Wyatt were fighting a losing battle to keep from grinning from ear to ear as well.

"What I say goes, right?" Victor asked.

"That's what I heard," Chris said with a sparkle of mischief in his green eyes. He exchanged a look with Wyatt. Wyatt had lost his battle to keep from grinning at his grandfather. They both knew what was coming.

"Okay then, so, who wants to go see a movie?" Victor asked, clapping the two boys on the shoulders.

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It was late Friday night. Or, one could actually call it early Saturday morning at that point. The last of Wyatt's birthday cake from earlier that week, a sole remaining piece, was sitting between the two teenage boys on a plate with two forks. Empty pizza boxes and two-liter soda bottles were left haphazardly on the floor of the conservatory in the Halliwell Manor. Sure indications that Piper Halliwell wasn't at home. Such a mess would not have been stood for. Then again, the gourmet chef most likely wouldn't have let her sons order pizza either, so that was a rare treat too. Chris had orbed the casserole their mother had prepared for them to their grandfather's apartment after they had gotten back from the movies. Tonight was game night with their grandpa and the three of them were sitting around the white wicker table together. It was almost two in the morning.

Victor watched his grandsons with a suspicious eye. He had to, as all too often they had been known to cheat. Not only for themselves, but also for each other, no matter what game they happened to be playing. It had now become a joke, a game within a game really: who could mess with grandpa without getting caught. Chris was ahead by at least ten games.

"Miss Scarlet, in the hall with the rope," Victor said as the boys looked at each other.

"Sorry Grandpa, wrong again." Chris held up the card and Wyatt scribbled on his paper.

"So boys, why were you at the bar last night?" Victor asked, casually slipping it into the conversation. He had been waiting all evening for the right moment to bring it up. Now seemed as good a time as any. The two of them looked at each other, blue eyes meeting green and sharing some silent and unspoken communication. Victor raised his eyebrows, "Boys?"

Whatever it was that decided it, Chris was the one that sighed and turned to his grandpa as the designated brother to answer the question, "Valley of Silence was playing and it was a one night deal and we love them. Mom never would have let us go."

"It's a bar Christopher," Victor said, "You're only sixteen."

Chris flashed his grandfather a disarming smile, "Never touched a drop. I was the designated orber."

Victor Bennet broke instantly into a booming laugh, slapping his hand on his thigh and rocking back in his chair. If he had been drinking something right then, he would have likely spit it out. The man's laugh was contagious and soon enough Wyatt was laughing all over again at his brother's humor and dry wit.

"See!" Chris said, "That was a funny line! Why didn't Mom buy that?"

"I don't know, it could have something to do with the fact that your brother… who just turned _eighteen_ this week… came home drunk." Victor tried to sound angry, but it was a miserable attempt while he was still chuckling at his grandson's line. _Designated orber?_ He chuckled again, taking a swig from his cup of soda.

"You should come next time grandpa, you'd like Valley of Silence," Wyatt said. The blonde witch smiled as he looked at his brother. Chris was now grinning from ear to ear. Wyatt notched an eyebrow upwards at him curiously, but got his answer a second later.

"Professor Plum, with the revolver in the kitchen," Chris said as Victor and Wyatt looked at each other and moaned. Chris picked up the little envelope and smiled as he produced the three cards he needed. He'd won the game of Clue. But he'd also beaten Wyatt again at their '_mess with grandpa'_ game. Professor Plum had been one of Victor's cards.

"I let you win that one," Wyatt said.

"Sure you did, Wy," Chris responded back. _Just like you let me win the last ten?_ Chris thought wryly, _What's the score now? Twelve to one?_ Wyatt wrinkled his nose at Chris and popped a handful of M&Ms into his mouth from the bowl full that they had been passing around the table.

"So, what next?" Victor asked, collecting the cards and game pieces.

Chris got up from the table, letting Wyatt and his grandfather clean up Clue, so that he could rummage in the trunk full of board games, "Let's see what we've got that we haven't played yet… Yatzee, Uno Attack, Troub--" Chris stopped for a moment, lifting a hand to his temple and keeping the other one on the trunk of games to help support his weight. For a moment his vision started to haze right around the edges and he thought he might be sitting down on the floor unwillingly very shortly.

"You alright, bro?" Wyatt asked in concern, stopping his folding of the Clue board to look over. Victor turned around in his seat to look as well, worried. Chris didn't answer right away, holding himself up with one hand on the trunk and his eyes blinking with exaggerated slowness.

"Yeah… yeah, fine…" Chris said a moment later, as his vision cleared. He could already feel the headache coming on though, "I think I just stood up too quick. I'm fine. How about 'Sorry!' we haven't played that one yet."

"Here, you sit down," Wyatt said, getting up, and starting over towards Chris, "I'll get the game and then go in the kitchen and get you something for your head."

Chris rolled his eyes and picked up the game from the trunk, "I'm right here, Wy. I've got the game in my hand already. I can get it. And I don't need anything for my head, I'm fine…"

"You're not fine. You might be able to fool everyone else Chris, but you can't fool me," Wyatt tapped the side of his own head, and then he pointed to the chair. "You sit down and let me go to the kitchen and get some aspirin for you." Wyatt didn't wait for any further argument from his brother as he headed out of the room.

"Sometimes that's really annoying," Chris grumbled as he watched Wyatt step out. The brunette made his way back to the table and set the game box down. Chris's grandfather was looking at him in concern now too. "Really, I'm okay, grandpa."

Victor frowned, "You sure you don't want to call it a night? I'll understand if you do."

Chris gave a small shake of his head, "It's just a little headache. It'll pass. They're getting better and I'm not getting them as often. The doctor said they'd stop eventually; it's no big deal. I'm not going to let it ruin game night. We haven't had a chance to do this in a while and I've missed it. I've still got a good hour of playtime in me. That is, unless you're too tired to stick with it old man?" The last was delivered with a smirk.

Victor raised an eyebrow, he was still worried but now he was smiling, "Who are you calling old, kid?"

"Who you calling a kid, _grandpa?_" Chris asked wryly.

"Who are you calling _grandpa,_ ya whippersnapper?" Victor asked, forcing himself to keep a straight face.

"Whippersnapper? That's the best you could come up with? _Whippersnapper?_ That made you sound older than my Dad," Chris laughed and tried not to show any indication of the slowly increasing throbbing in his skull. Victor chuckled too, but his laugh was edged in concern for his grandson.

"…do I need to separate you two?" Wyatt asked, walking back into the room. He held out a glass of water to Chris and then a pair of aspirin in his palm.

Chris rolled his eyes and took them. He popped the pair of pills in his mouth and washed them down with the water, unwilling to admit that he had actually needed them. "We were just getting warmed up, Wy."

Wyatt sat back in his seat, trying not to make it obvious that he was looking at Chris, "I call the blue pieces."

"You realize you choose blue every game?" Chris asked. The younger boy blinked when Wyatt handed the blue pieces over to him almost immediately. The younger boy frowned and slid them back, "I wasn't saying that _I _wanted to be blue. Don't start getting all sympathetic on me. The overprotective-medicine-getting was enough. I'm fine. And _quit_ looking at me like that. Let's play already so I can beat you again and rub it in."

"You are so not beating me at this game," Wyatt said, setting his pieces up on the board.

Victor smiled. It was good to spend some quality time with his grandsons, even if he knew he wasn't ever going to win one of these games with them.

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It was nine am in the morning in California, which meant it was six pm in Sweden. The concert started at seven thirty. They were supposed to meet their dates in about half an hour. Wyatt Halliwell looked cautiously down the hallway and made his way down the steps toward the conservatory where his grandpa was lying on the sofa. Just as he hit the bottom step, the phone rang leaving Wyatt to hurry and orb into the dining room where he could listen to the phone call.

Victor pressed the button on the phone, "Hello?"

Victor shifted himself on the sofa, getting a bit more comfortable. He was tired, unused to staying up all hours of the night. The time spent with his grandsons had been worth it, but he was paying for it now. He wasn't as young as he used to be.

"Hi, Dad," Piper's voice sounded, "How is everything? Any attacks?"

"No Piper. It is a quiet, lazy Saturday and instead of playing with my grandsons, they're in their rooms."

"Quiet? Our house?" Piper asked, "Are you sure you're in the right house? Are the boys even still there?"

Victor smiled and looked towards the stairs, "You know how quiet they get when you separate them. And I feel just awful about it."

"Cut the crap Dad. You damn well know that you took them to that movie the three of you have been talking about for months," Piper said, using that tone that she used on the boys. Even to Victor it was a bit intimidating coming from this generation's Halliwell matriarch. Piper continued, "Let me guess. You had Wyatt orb the casserole over to your place while the three of you ate way too much pizza and played games until three in the morning."

_Chris, actually,_ Victor thought to himself as he waited for Piper's tirade to end. "Now Piper, they are both in their rooms and all is well. Relax. You said that they should stay in their rooms and that is where they are."

"Sure they are," Piper said and Victor could hear the frown in her voice, "Are you sure all is well?"

"Yes."

"You'll check on them?" Piper asked.

"Yes honey."

Wyatt rolled his eyes as his mother began giving his grandfather the third degree about punishments again. He backed up from the doorway and then quietly made his way into the kitchen. He knew how the rest of the conversation was going to go. Poor grandpa. Wyatt moved over to the drawer where his mother kept her mad money hidden and opened it. The blonde witch was pulling out half of it when Chris orbed in right beside him.

"Have you lost your mind?" the younger boy asked, keeping his voice down, "The point of mad money is not to turn mad."

"It's for a good cause," Wyatt argued quietly, sticking what he wasn't taking back into the envelope and closing the drawer back.

"She's going to kill us and no one will ever find the bodies," the sixteen-year-old hissed quietly.

"What if something happens when we're in Sweden? You don't want to be stuck there with no money for food or a T-shirt," Wyatt whispered, hoping the bit logic would help.

Chris shook his head, "I'm gonna let her blow you up first."

"Boys?" Victor's voice called from the other room.

"Well hell, let's do this," Wyatt said, pocketing the money, "Do you have the spell?"

Chris frowned and raked his hands through his hair, but he nodded, "I have it. I just feel bad for tricking grandpa."

"Sweden Chris. Grandpa is great, but he's not going to let us go to Sweden," Wyatt pointed out.

Chris knew his brother was right, but it didn't make him feel any less guilty over what he was about to do, "Okay, here it goes:

May grandpa see what we want him to see,

So away from home we can be.

Let him see us safe in bed,

So it will ease his troubled head."

Wyatt's eyebrows rose, impressed, "Hey, that was good."

"Thanks," Chris said, "Now let's go check so that we can get out of here. We don't want to be late."

The two boys left the kitchen in a swirl of blue and white lights that funneled upstairs and reappeared in Wyatt's room. An exact image of Wyatt was laying face down, sprawled in his bed, one arm hanging over the side. When the first soft snore came from the illusion, Chris cracked a grin. Perfect.

"I don't snore," Wyatt said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Coming from someone who shared a room with you for fourteen years," Chris said, "Yeah. Yeah, you do. I'll go check my room. You call D.J. and tell him we're ready to go."

The younger boy left the room and Wyatt went over to the phone, still scowling a bit at the snoring mirror image of himself. He didn't snore. Did he? Wyatt picked up the phone and punched in their friend's number, hooking the phone between his shoulder and his ear. Wyatt was setting his watch to Sweden time when D.J. picked up on the other end.

"Hey, it's me. Come on over. We're ready to--" Wyatt heard a dial tone and the air in front of him shimmered just as he finished, "--go."

D.J. was grinning from ear to ear as he appeared, "So, we're all set? This is going to b--"

D.J. was cut off by the ear piercing sirens go off all over the house and the half-manticore clapped his hands over his ears, "Holy crap, what the hell is that all about?"

Chris came racing into Wyatt's room, eyes wide, "Turn it off!"

"I can't!" Wyatt yelled, grabbing the crystal that had been set on his windowsill.

"Wyatt, turn it off!" Chris shouted again, looking over his shoulder towards the door. D.J. had his hands over his ears still. Chris hadn't even thought about the fact that D.J. might set off the demon alarms that their mother had put up all over the house. The boy was half demon. How could Chris have been so stupid?

"Chris! Wyatt!?" Victor's worried voice called up the stairs. They could hear his feet pounding up towards them.

Wyatt gestured wildly towards the door. "Stall him!"

Chris stepped out into the hallway to intercept their grandfather, shutting the door behind him. He hoped Wyatt took care of the alarm system. Victor had just reached the second floor landing and was walking towards Chris, holding a potion vial in each hand. The alarm stopped going off and Chris let out a small sigh of relief, quickly stepping forward and taking his grandfather's arm.

"What's going on? Did someone else attack? Are you boys okay?" Victor asked.

"Everything's fine," Chris reassured.

"Then why was that alarm thing going off?" Victor asked, looking towards Wyatt's room as his younger grandson led him back towards the stairs.

"Wyatt's friend D.J. popped over…" honesty was best, Chris thought as he said it.

"The half-demon kid?" Victor asked, looking over his shoulder again.

"That's the one…" Chris said, "…so everything's okay, grandpa."

"You sure?" Victor questioned, stopping at the top of the stairs, "What's he doing over here?"

"He wanted to talk to Wyatt about a concert," Chris replied. _I'm still telling the truth, I'm still telling the truth._ He didn't want to lie to his grandfather. He hated tricking the man and omitting so much, but there was no way Victor would let them do any intercontinental orbing.

Victor narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Chris, "You boys aren't planning on going to this concert, are you?"

"I promise you'll see us in our rooms and in bed all day," Chris said honestly. It was the truth. If Victor poked his head into either of their rooms he would see them. Victor looked like he was trying to detect a hint of a lie in the words, but found none. Chris flashed him one of his famous disarming smiles, "Mom wanted us to stay put and think about what we did, right?"

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Victor said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. He held up the potions, "You sure you don't need these? I've got more downstairs. I'd feel better if you had a couple up here with you."

"I'll take 'em," Chris said, plucking the two vials from his grandfather's hands. He didn't really think about it as he tucked them into the pocket of his denim jacket. Victor patted his shoulder and then started down the stairs. Chris waited on the landing while his grandfather walked down the stairs.

After he had made sure that Victor was down there and out of sight he went back into Wyatt's room and leaned against the door. Wyatt and D.J. were looking at him expectantly. Chris blew out a breath and flashed them an 'okay' sign.

Wyatt pulled the tickets out of his desk, "Time to go Chris."

"You know, the whole thing with the alarm going off reminded me that we're leaving grandpa here alone and unprotected, Wy," Chris said, "It's bad enough we're tricking him. I don't want anything to happen to him."

"So come up with a spell and let's go, we've got dates waiting," Wyatt said, dropping an arm on D.J.'s shoulder and handing him one of the tickets. Wyatt also pulled out half of the money he had 'borrowed' from their mother's cash drawer and handed that over to Chris too. "And don't forget to set your watch ahead nine hours."

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**Author's Note**: Well! I've finished The Crucible. The only thing I've got left to do on that one is convert it to Screenplay format for the contest, so I actually have time to add this story to my active list! I bet ya'll are excited. ;) I sort of set a rule for myself to only _actively_ be working on two stories at once. That way I can do one Destined story and one "teenage years" prequel (Pre-Destined I guess you'd say) story at the same time. That doesn't mean that I'm not thinking ahead and making notes for future stories, episodes, and projects… it just means I'll only be making -regular- updates on two at a time. To encourage me to keep those updates coming as fast as possible, there's on little thing I request of you: write me a review:) I love to know what ya'll think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Charmed, or any of its characters… I just wish I did.

**Author's Note**: This story is actually a collaboration with the "other half of my brain" Jennifer (_strikermac_ to those of you on TCS Forums). This story takes place a few months after Chris's recovery from my other "teenage years" story A Handful of Stones. Chris is 16 and Wyatt is 18. And like my other story is a prequel to my Destined series.

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After Chris had come up with a protection spell to keep Victor safe and everyone had their watches synchronized, and grabbed warm coats. The weather in Sweden in February was supposed to be pretty cold, though Chris had checked the Internet and the weather forecast said that it was 'unusually warm' for the season. Which didn't mean a whole lot, since the idea of unusually warm meant it was in the low-to-mid-forties instead of freezing. Wyatt grinned at his younger sibling and best friend. "Goodbye Saturday morning grounded in the States, hello Saturday evening concert in Sweden. Ready?"

Wyatt and Chris both vanished in a swirling cloud of blue and white orbs, with D.J. chuckling and disappearing in a ripple of shimmering air. The three of them reappeared seconds later between two buildings in Stockholm, Sweden.

"The Globe Arena should be down the street from here. We're supposed to meet them out front," Chris said.

"Lead the way, little brother," Wyatt said. He was downright giddy, they were in a foreign country. Better, they were in a foreign country about to see a concert by one of the hottest bands currently on tour. He winked at D.J. who was grinning too and they followed as Chris started heading down the street.

D.J. marveled at the theatre as they walked through the gates into the parking area. Wyatt was pretty impressed too, but he hadn't stopped smiling since they had gotten here. Chris waved as he saw the familiar faces of the two girls he had spoken with to get the tickets. Petite blonde Katina and her busty brunette friend Pernilla stood with a third girl in the parking lot. There were cars steady coming in and people making their way towards the dome shaped arena where the concert was being held. The third girl was tall, blonde and gorgeous, leaning against the car with an aire of casual ease.

"Right on time," Katina said, smiling at Chris, "Chris, this is our friend Rebecka."

Wyatt stepped forward around his little brother and extended his hand towards Rebecka, "I'm Wyatt."

Chris cleared his throat, "Wyatt, D.J. this is Katina and Pernilla… they helped me get the tickets. This is my big brother Wyatt and our friend D.J."

Introductions were made and Rebecka extended her hand to Chris, "Nice to meet you in person. Katina hasn't stopped talking about you all day." Chris took the hand, frowning at the uneasy feeling he got when he shook it. Wyatt stepped between them as Rebecka released his hand, smoothly wrapping an arm over the shoulder of his 'date'.

_When you said we were going to have dates, I was a little worried,_ Wyatt thought, grinning over at Chris.

Chris had stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, relaxing a bit since Wyatt didn't seem to share his bad vibe about Rebecka. It was probably nothing. Besides that, Katina was smiling up at him with those big green eyes and that sort of superseded his mild paranoia. _Not worried anymore, Wy?_ He glanced towards D.J. who hadn't seemed to 'click' with Pernilla yet. Maybe they just needed a little time. "We should go get in line with our tickets," Chris said.

_Uh, yeah, not worried any more,_ Wyatt thought walking rather comfortably with his date. Chris and Katina followed, with Pernilla and D.J. trailing behind. _Five dollars says D.J. puts his foot in his mouth before we get to our seats._

_Ten says that he does it before we even get inside the stadium,_ Chris smirked. He was glad that poor D.J. didn't know they were betting on how soon he was going to crash and burn. Chris looked at Katina walking next to him and blushed. "You look really nice," he complimented, "Blue is a good color for you."

"Thank you," Katina said.

The six of them filed into the back of the line and D.J. still hadn't said anything to Pernilla yet, but then other than "hello" she hadn't said much to him either. And then D.J. decided to try to break the ice, "You know, you kind of resemble Virginia Leith from 'A Kiss Before Dying'. Your father doesn't happen to have a mining fortune does he?"

Pernilla looked at him like he had sprouted a second head, sighed, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Chris glanced over at Wyatt and smirked. Wyatt sighed and stuck his hand into his pocket, slapping a ten dollar bill into Chris's waiting outstretched hand. D.J. of course, missed the exchange, already talking his date's ear off.

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Victor Bennet muttered under his breath as the phone rang. He had just gotten himself comfortable on the couch again with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. With a sigh he folded the paper and got up to answer the cordless phone.

"Hey Dad," Piper's voice sounded on the other end, "How are the boys?"

"Piper. You _just_ called an hour ago. They're in their rooms. They're fine," Victor said. He didn't want to tell her that not long after he had gotten off the phone with her the last time the demon alarm had gone off and scared him half to death. It had just been that friend of Wyatt's, at least that's what Chris had told him, but since Wyatt was grounded and wasn't supposed to have friends over… well, Victor didn't want to hear his daughter go on a rant about how he was letting them get away with murder. "I'll even go up and check on them if you like."

"Please," Piper said, "I've just got a feeling, Dad. Take the phone with you."

Victor complied, trudging towards the stairs and climbing up to the second floor where the bedrooms were. He poked his head into Chris's room, to see the brunette teen sprawled on his bed, asleep on a textbook. Victor smiled and backed up, quietly shutting the door. "I don't think you need to be worrying about them honey."

"Why is that?" Piper asked.

Victor heard a very large crash and bang in the background on Piper's end, followed by some cursing in the background. He stuck his head into Wyatt's room, to see the blonde sprawled on his bed as well. It looked like the previous night's games combined with the night prior's trip to the bar had taken its toll on the two teens. Victor shut Wyatt's door too as he heard the quiet snore. "Because I just poked my head into their rooms and they were both sleeping."

"Because you kept them up until three in the morning," Piper accused, ignoring whatever the racket had been in the background.

"Hey, they kept _me_ up 'til three in the morning. They're fine. You just worry about whatever that crash was I just heard and get your new restaurant ready for business," Victor said.

"They need their rest Dad. Don't let Chris stay up all night. He's been funny about sleeping since October," Piper said, "I think he's having nightmares again. I'm worried about him." There was another loud crash and Victor heard his daughter let out an exasperated sigh.

"Sweetie, I'm taking care of them," Victor said, "And he's sleeping _now_, so I wouldn't worry too much about him. They're fine."

"Nothing out of the ordinary?" Piper asked, meaning demons.

"No. Everything's okay. You really should check on whatever that crash was Piper," Victor said, starting back down the stairs.

"You'll call me if anything is wrong, yes?" Piper asked.

"Yes Piper, of course I will," Victor said, "Bye."

"Okay," Piper said, "Bye Dad."

Victor hung up the phone and covered his mouth with his hand as a huge yawn made his jaws creak. He set the handset on the table across from the sofa and made himself comfortable with his newspaper again.

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The concert was in full swing. The band had just started their second set and Chris couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Sure it was loud being right in the front row, but it was a concert. Concerts were supposed to be loud. And being in the front row, Wyatt had scored an autographed T-shirt that had been tossed to them from the band. Too bad they wouldn't really be able to talk about it at school; his friends, and Wyatt's as well, would have killed to be able to fly to Sweden for this. D.J. looked like he was enjoying the music and talking rather constantly to Pernilla, even though she didn't look like she was sharing his enthusiasm for whatever subject it was that had him running his mouth. Pernilla kept shooting looks towards Katina, who was standing on Chris's other side. Wyatt was next to her and Rebecka to his left.

Chris glances towards Wyatt out of the corner of his eye in time to see his brother 'making a move' on his date for the evening. Rebecka clearly wasn't the type to mind because Chris saw her reciprocate the kiss. Rolling his eyes over his big brother, Chris looked back up at the stage. At least Wyatt had decided to block their empathic link now that he had decided to start kissing the girl that he had just met. Chris could be grateful for that. He didn't need all those emotions filtering over.

Chris wasn't nearly so bold. He glanced towards Katina and found her looking at him as well, which had both younger teens looking towards the stage again with slight blushes. Tentatively, Chris reached his hand over and brushed his fingers against hers without looking at her and found her slipping her hand into his. His smile widened a bit. He might not be quite as outgoing as Wyatt, but that little bit of handholding was bold enough for him.

"They're a great band, aren't they?" Katina asked.

"Yeah," Chris said, turning to smile at her. This was great.

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The concert had ended over an hour ago and the parking lot was now deserted except for the two cars and the six teenagers that were gathered around them. It had been an excellent concert, well worth the plane ticket that--oh, wait--that just made it even better since they hadn't needed a plane ticket to get to it. Now it was just the matter of the goodbyes that were being put off, for the desire to linger a bit longer.

Wyatt and the frisky blonde Rebecka leaned heavily against her car, kissing like they had known each other for five months instead of five hours. Chris on the other hand, was off to one side talking quietly with the petite blonde that had been his date. He was playing with the ends of her hair while they talked, which was a rather intimate gesture for the shy teen. Chris leaned forwards and kissed Katina chastely, but she surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. At the back of the other car, D.J. sat on the hood of the trunk glancing at his watch yet again. His "date", the stern looking brunette Pernilla, was standing on the other side with her arms folded over her generous chest. Occasionally she would let a sigh of disgust blow past her thin lips as she waited impatiently for Katina.

"Where are you staying?" Katina asked as she took a step back. She let her hands slowly fall from around Chris's shoulders, not quite trusting herself with the handsome American teen.

"With my grandfather," Chris said slyly. It wasn't technically a lie. They were indeed supposed to be staying with their grandfather. It just wasn't on _this_ continent. Chris slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "We'll be going home soon though."

"Katina! Are you ready?" Pernilla asked, having finally lost the last shreds of her patience.

Katina sighed and looked over her shoulder at her friend, "I really must go."

Chris tried not to let his disappointment that the evening was finally over show on his face. His fingers slid down to wrap around her hand again as he walked her over to her car. She was reluctant to let go of his hand once they had reached the door, but smiled at him when she did.

Katina handed Chris a slip of paper, "Email me?"

"I will," Chris said and then added, "Maybe we'll be back."

Katina leaned in to kiss Chris again and he opened her car door for her. "I hope so," she said, sliding into her seat. She fumbled briefly with her keys while Pernilla got into the passenger side with yet another frustrated sigh. D.J. hopped off the trunk and stood behind the car, arms folded over his chest. Katina smiled up at Chris as he closed her door for her and she started her car. As the pair of them drove away, Chris waved until their car was out of sight.

"Of course you get the pretty one, and of course T.B. gets the tall gorgeous one. Why do I always end up with the annoyed social outcast?" D.J. complained as he and Chris walked over to Rebecka's car. They leaned against it, waiting, since Wyatt was still slightly preoccupied.

"You have more in common?" Chris quipped, without looking up at D.J. He fingered the email address in his pocket and smiled wistfully.

"Funny. T.B. let's go!!!" D.J. yelled, but Wyatt didn't even blink. Nor did his date.

"Ladies man is going to be a while," Chris said. There was something off about Wyatt that was filtering even through the block that his older brother had put on their empathic link, but Chris wasn't really sure what to make of it. _ Probably just because his hormones are out of control right now._ Chris raked his hands through his hair and walked away from Rebecka's car to the gate, leaning against it.

D.J. rolled his eyes at Chris and sighed in frustration over Wyatt before he started towards the fence too. As he crossed the parking lot towards his best friend's younger brother, he noticed another car approaching. "Looks like your date forgot something, cause I sure don't think mine was interested," D.J. said.

Chris shook his head, "Different car."

D.J. turned to watch the car's approach as he stood by Chris. The car pulled into the parking lot, circling around where Wyatt and Rebecka continued making out. It drove towards where D.J. and Chris were leaning and slowed. "Mercedes… nice…" D.J. said appreciatively.

Chris frowned, already starting to get a bad feeling. A whole empty parking lot and this expensive-looking car had decided to park in front of them? When the car had stopped and the engine had been turned off, Chris got the reason that he had that uneasy feeling. A quintet of demons climbed out of the car.

Chris smiled slightly, "Demons driving a luxury car. Now I've seen everything."

Each of the demons was a different species. The one that worried Chris the most was a Scabber demon who was looking like it wanted to kill them both right about now. For a heartbeat Chris stood there watching them approach. The Scabber spit its "icky stuff" towards Chris and he tried to orb. Nothing. Chris's green eyes went wide and he leapt out of the way just before the acid projectile hit its mark. "I can't orb! DJ, get us out of here."

Chris latched onto D.J.'s arm. The half-demon tried to shimmer and nothing. Not even a ripple. "This is not good, this is so not good. Why can't I shimmer?" D.J. was panicked as they backed away from the approaching demons. "I'm going to die in Sweden and they don't even have a good baseball team."

"Will you cut it out," Chris said, backing away, "Wyatt a little help!"

Wyatt didn't even blink, or look up, oblivious to the arrival of the car full of demons. Chris was still holding onto D.J.'s arm as the two of them backed away. One of the demons, a human-looking one, had formed an energy ball in its hand now.

"Wyatt!!! A little help here," Chris called again, looking towards his brother. Then Wyatt turned, but Chris could see that his blue eyes were glazed over. Chris's heart dropped into his stomach as he looked to see Rebecka smiling as she trailed her fingers along Wyatt's chest, "What did you do to my brother?"

"He's mine now. Wyatt. Destroy them," Rebecka said, sliding her fingers along the muscular blonde's chest and slipping around behind him.

Chris's eyes opened wide as Wyatt lifted his hands to blow them up. He jerked D.J. out of the way, diving behind the Mercedes. The right rear taillight exploded in twisting metal. D.J. pulled Chris the other way as the demon with the energy ball sent it flying. It scorched across the driver's side door of the luxury car. Chris looked towards the back end of the car to see his brother walking purposefully towards them, hands raised again. The demons didn't seem half as scary now.

Chris scrambled to his feet and drug D.J. with him, "Run!!"

The young witchlighter sprinted across the parking lot, towing D.J. behind him. The other boy didn't need the towing, he was running just as quickly. Chris's mind was racing, he should have followed his instincts. He'd had a bad feeling about Rebecka when he met her. He should have known something was wrong when Wyatt had blocked the link during the concert. As he and D.J. got out of the parking lot, racing down the street, Chris came to the conclusion that someone had been listening to their conversations, but he had no idea for how long. This had been planned out.

"I'm gonna die in Sweden," D.J. cried as he followed Chris's lead and they cut off the road and into the trees for cover.

"Will you shut up and let me think!!!" Chris shouted.

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Victor was trying to read the newspaper. He had barely touched the coffee he had made for himself to try to keep him awake. He smiled slightly and glanced at the phone that was sitting on the coffee table next to his little mug. His daughter always had a feeling that her sons were in danger. Ninety-nine percent of the time it was just Piper being an overprotective mom. Victor smiled and shook his head.

He yawned again and folded the paper, resting it on his chest. He was feeling incredibly tired all of the sudden. He just wasn't as young as he used to be. Staying up all night with his grandsons had been fun, but he was really feeling it now. "…just close my eyes for just a few minutes…" he mumbled to himself. He closed his eyes. _Just for a minutes_, he thought and with that Victor Bennet fell asleep.

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Chris leaned heavily against a large tree. He wasn't sure how long they had been running, fifteen or twenty minutes? Longer? They had come out of the trees into a residential area, only to go back into more trees. He didn't even know what direction they were heading in, but it didn't exactly matter. It wasn't like he knew the city. Chris was out of breath as he bent forward, resting his hands on his knees. His left leg was cramping up. D.J. slid on the damp grass and fell against it, resting a hand on the tree and sucking in huge gulps of air. The demons had Wyatt, Chris couldn't orb. D.J. couldn't shimmer. How the hell did they get out of this mess? Chris grimaced.

"Karma," Chris mumbled.

"What?" D.J. asked breathlessly, looking up at the younger teen.

"Karma. I'm paying for sneaking out of the house three times this week and putting a spell on grandpa. Instant karma," Chris said, "They have Wyatt. I have to save Wyatt…"

"How about saving me first? I'm gonna die in Sweden and there's not even a place to get a good burger," D.J. said, still trying to catch his breath.

"Shut up or I'm going to turn you into a toad. Keep you in my pocket until I can figure this whole thing out," Chris said.

"Hey, that wasn't funny the last time you did that! Your mom wasn't real happy either."

"You make such a great toad though," Chris said. The witchlighter looked up towards the sky. The stars seemed rather bright in contrast to the darkness surrounding them. The… Chris whispered quietly, "Oh no."

"What?" D.J. knew that tone, it could only mean something worse was in store for them.

"I need a library."

"Dude, we're in Sweden and it's nearly midnight. What the hell are you going to do in a library? The books are in Swedish and they're closed," D.J. said.

"I just need to concentrate. I can understand them if I concentrate," Chris said, rubbing a hand over his face.

"You can read Swedish?" D.J. asked, "Since when do you read Swedish?"

"My Dad said a whitelighter speaks whatever language their charge speaks. I just need to think," Chris said. He pushed off from the tree and extended a hand down to D.J. Now he was wishing that he hadn't let Wyatt talk him into going late to that lecture at Magic School earlier this week. It had probably been something important. Chris was really hoping he was wrong. He just needed a library to confirm it one way or another, a library or a computer with the Internet. Either would do.

The sound of a car's tires grinding over gravel sent a jolt of urgency through him. Chris jerked D.J. the rest of the way to his feet and glanced towards the headlights that shined through the trees. "Run."

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**Author's Note**: Karma… ah, yes, gotta love karma. Write us (I say us because this is a collaboration!) a review and let us know what you think. The more reviews we get the sooner I'll post the next chapter. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: _strikermac_ and I are really sad, because we don't own Charmed, or any of its characters… we just wish we did.

**Author's Note**: My goodness, there's been a lot of positive response to this story already! That makes me so very happy. It really does. Someone said something about Chris and Wyatt kissing their dates pretty quick… well… what can you do? Teenage boys, I tell ya! Wyatt's definitely a red-blooded American male: Hot Swedish girl wants to make out with me? Okay! -- too bad she was a demon. That'll put a damper on any relationship. And Chris, he was just giving Katina an innocent 'good night kiss' - she's the one that was just a _little_ bit more forward with him and deepened the kiss, but who can blame her! Besides, the whole pair of shy teens is kinda cute. Admit it. Poor D.J. though, I do kinda feel bad for him. Not only did he strike out with his 'date', but now he's stuck in Sweden. He's not the only one though. You all will have to read to find out how they're going to get out of this mess!

And of course, thank your authors by reviewing the chapters once you've read them. We need the encouragement to keep going. ;)

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Chris and D.J. broke from the tree line to see the street and waterway separating them from the rest of the city. Both boys' breaths were pluming in white mist into the chilly air as they ran. There had to be a bridge across. Chris darted a look behind them into the trees. They were still ahead of the demons… and Wyatt. D.J. was panting as they ran along the water. Stockholm is more or less surrounded by water, being located on the east coast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago. Chris was struggling to keep up with D.J. as they ran, but he knew they couldn't slow down.

He needed a library badly. If he couldn't orb, he couldn't get home to the Book. If he couldn't get to the Book then he couldn't fix this whole thing. There was a bridge ahead and Chris found a second wind, drawing up next to D.J. again as their sneakers pounded against the pavement. Chris's lungs felt like they were burning breathing in the cold air while they ran. It didn't feel nearly so cold though, having to keep moving as they were. He had even broken a sweat.

D.J. was sweating too, and his glasses were fogging up so badly that the older boy had just pulled them off and was holding them as he ran. They bolted across the bridge and into the city. Chris and D.J. didn't slow as they hurried down the vacant streets. Chris darted another look over his shoulder to see if they were being followed. There wasn't any sign of the demons coming out of the tree line. That the demons weren't chasing them was both good and bad. Good because they weren't going to get blasted in the back with fireballs yet, or worse blasted by Wyatt, but bad… because it meant that they had probably gotten back in their car. They had a car. Chris and D.J. were on foot.

Chris rounded the side of a building and stopped, sucking in a lungful of air as he dropped to the ground to try to catch his breath. And more importantly to think. His leg was aching badly too, he hadn't put this much stress on it in the four and a half months since he'd broken it. He hid his slight grimace from D.J. He didn't want to give D.J. something else to worry about, not unless it became a problem.

"T.B. is going to fry us, why are you stopping?" D.J. asked as Chris knelt on the ground. D.J. wiped his glasses off on his shirt and swept his arm across his sweaty forehead before he put his glasses back on his face.

"I need a break and I need to think. If Wyatt still has his powers, that must mean I still have mine," Chris said breathlessly, "We just can't transport away."

D.J. scowled, and growled sarcastically, "No, really? I hadn't noticed. Please, I'm going to die in Sweden!!! You obviously are not understanding how much trouble we are in."

Chris looked up at him and wiped his own sweaty forehead, his dark hair was sticking to it, "I get it D.J. I _get_ it. I honestly just need you to relax. Geeze, and you guys say that _I'm_ neurotic."

Chris raked his hands through his sweaty hair again. He _more_ than understood how much trouble they were in. The demons had Wyatt and Wyatt… Chris's big brother… was trying to kill them. "Trouble" didn't quite begin to cover it. D.J. leaned against the brick wall of the building they had taken shelter next to, but it didn't last long. Chris knew the older boy had to be as tired of running as he was. It felt like they had been running forever, yet D.J. couldn't seem to stand still; he kept worriedly looking up and down the empty streets. D.J. finally sank to the ground, but he was twisting the strings from his jacket's hood around in his fingers.

"I'm not going to let you die D.J." Chris said. He bent forwards and rubbed his left leg through his jeans. He wasn't really ready to get moving again, but he knew they couldn't spend too long or the demons would catch up to them. Chris pushed himself to his feet, "Now, let's go. I need to know how the planets are aligned tonight."

D.J. looked up, he had _just_ sat down and _now_ Chris wanted to get moving again? D.J. got to his feet too, "The planets? Aligned?"

"You really are going to graduate and you have no idea what I just said?" Chris asked. He glanced up at the stars to try to get an idea of what direction to go in from the constellations. It was hard to make them out now that they were being disrupted from the city's lights.

"One," D.J. said, following Chris, "I'm insulted. Two, what do the planets' alignment have to do with our only means of transport off of this continent? Three, are you hungry? I'm kinda hungry."

"I'm turning you into a toad," Chris said, choosing the direction he hoped was north and heading that way. Further into the midst of the city.

"It doesn't have to be a meal!!! A bag of chips would do!" D.J. yelled. He winced when Chris sped up and sped up as well to keep up with him. "I'm gonna die in Sweden."

"Toad, D.J. Toad!" Chris hollered back at the other boy over his shoulder. Chris chuckled as he ran down the street.

"You are so not funny," D.J. sneered at Chris.

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"_Little pest," D.J. said as he sneered at the brunette eight year old standing in the back yard of the Halliwell Manor._

"_I'm not a pest. I just wanna play with you guys," Chris said, looking sad. His lower lip was projected outwards, quivering._

"_We don't play with babies," D.J. said, fixing his glasses._

"_I'm not a baby, D.J. and you better quit saying that," Chris said petulantly._

"_What are you going to do? Go cry to your mom," the older boy said. He was waiting for Wyatt and here he was having to put up with his friend's bratty little brother on the verge of a temper tantrum._

"_I'm warning you…" Chris said._

"_Baby."_

_The eight year old pushed his sleeves up and D.J. held back a snorting laugh, wondering what Chris thought he was going to do to him. The scrawny little kid didn't think he was going to fight him did he? That was a laugh! Instead, Chris screwed up his face and started rhyming:_

"_Four-eyes thinks he's big and bad_  
_Now he's made me really mad_  
_So I'll teach him not to goad_  
_Turn this bully into a toad!"_

_D.J. opened his mouth to laugh and retort back to the other boy but it came out as a croak as he shrunk. Chris bent over and picked him up. The slimy toad tried to jump out of Chris's hands, but Chris held on, smiling brightly. He was quite a happy little witch at that moment._

_Wyatt came bounding out the back door with his baseball bat and glove in hand. The ten year old blonde looked around and scratched his head, "Where's D.J.?" he asked Chris._

"_He had to leave," Chris said innocently, "Can I come play with you guys?"_

"_No. You're too little Chris, you could get hurt," Wyatt told him. The older boy looked at the toad in Chris's hand and chuckled, "Cool toad." Wyatt ruffled Chris's hair and walked off._

_Chris watched him go and looked at D.J. who was still squirming toad-like in his hands, "Fine, but if I can't go, neither can you." Chris walked back into the house and made his way up the stairs to his room. He dropped D.J. in Wyatt's dirty laundry basket. "See if you ever call me a baby again."_

_Later that evening the Wyatt-Halliwell family was seated around the dinner table. Piper had just settled into her seat after getting all the food laid out when the phone rang. She got back up and crossed over to pick it up._

"_Hello?"_

"_Hi Piper, could you tell D.J. it's time to come home now?"_

"_I would if he were here Derek," Piper told the man. She covered the phone and looked towards the table, "Wyatt have you seen D.J.?"_

"_We were supposed to go play ball, but he left before I went to the park. Chris was the last to see him," the blonde answered._

_Piper looked at her younger son, who had suddenly gained a great deal of interest in his vegetables. Piper narrowed her eyes suspiciously and said into the receiver, "I'll call you right back Derek." She hung up the phone and walked over to Chris. Piper bent over and lifted his chin with her finger. The little boy was suppressing a grin. "Christopher, where is D.J.?"_

"_Around," Chris innocently answered._

"_What did you do young man?" Piper asked. Wyatt looked up from his dinner towards his little brother and his mother and grabbed his glass of milk._

"_He was calling me a baby. He deserved it."_

"_What did you do?" Piper repeated._

"_I turned him into a toad."_

_Wyatt spit out the milk that he had just taken a sip of and Chris erupted into a fit of giggles. The older boy was gaping at him in disbelief as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Leo at the end of the table raised both of his eyebrows with a faintly proud smile. Piper sent her husband a quick smile in return before she looked back at her son with a frown._

"_Christopher, this is not funny," Piper admonished, "We do not turn our friends into toads, or any other disgusting creatures no matter what they call us."_

"_They won't let me play with them. It's not fair!" Chris pouted._

"_Fair or not we have to get D.J. back to his dad. Now let's go," Piper dragged Chris out of his chair and pulled him out of the dining room with one hand on his arm. She started marching him up the stairs. Chris was sneering as he stood beside his mother just inside his bedroom door. Piper looked down at her son, "Now where is he?"_

"_Here," Chris said. He walked over to the dirty laundry basket and pulled him out, holding the toad in front of him in both hands. _

_Piper suppressed a grin; forcing the stern motherly look to remain on her face, "Now turn him back."_

"_But mom…" Chris started. Piper raised her eyebrows at him, "Do I have to?"_

"_Now, young man!"_

_Chris sighed and set D.J. down on the ground in front of him._

"_Since my mom is really upset,_  
_reverse this spell, even though I don't want to yet."_

_Sparkling lights enveloped the toad and it transformed back into D.J. D.J. scowled at Chris his fists balling up at his sides, "Oh gross, now I smell like Wyatt's sweaty socks. That was rotten!"_

_Chris moved around in front of his mother and Piper rested a hand on his shoulders. Chris jutted his chin out, "I'll do it again if you ever call me a baby again."_

"_Baby," D.J. said._

_Piper quickly clamped a hand over Chris's mouth and looked down at Wyatt's friend, "That wasn't very nice D.J."_

"_He turned me into a toad and fed me flies Ms. Halliwell!" _

_Chris pulled his face away from his mother's hand, "At least I fed you," he said snottily to D.J._

"_Time to go home D.J. Shimmer off, don't stray," Piper said._

"_Yes m'am," D.J. said, glaring at Chris before he shimmered out of the room._

_Piper looked down at Chris and folded her arms over her chest, "A toad?"_

"_It was the only thing I could think of," Chris said as he shrugged his small shoulders._

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They were deeper in the city now, and had slowed down some as they made their way along through the streets lined with tall old buildings. In search of a library or something that might give them a better direction of where to find one. Most everything was closed and there wasn't anyone on the streets now. Chris glanced at his watch, after midnight and leaning closer to one a.m. Sweden time. They had been running for over an hour. Now that they had slowed, the cold was starting to get to them both, making them chilly as their sweat began to dry.

Chris moved over to a store window, leaving D.J. trailing behind. He was trying hard not to limp, but his leg was throbbing. He just hoped D.J. hadn't noticed. The witchlighter was trying his best to ignore the ache for both their sakes. It was healed, but this ordeal was pushing the limits of the strength he was still building back up in it. He stopped in front of the window and rubbed his arms as he frowned at the Swedish words printed on papers plastered against the glass. It looked like some sort of travel agency from the pictures of tropical destinations pasted up all over the windows.

"We should have tried to go to a concert in New Zealand, I think it's warmer there this time of year," D.J. said, wrapping his arms around himself, "And at least they speak English."

Chris ignored him. He cupped his hands over the window to block the glare from the streetlights and peered inside. There was a map of the city on the wall. The brunette groaned in frustration and slapped the window with his palm. "Ugh… if I could orb in there I could figure out where we are and how to get to a library or something… there's huge map on the wall of the city."

"If you could orb in there, that would mean you could orb and we wouldn't be completely _screwed_ right now," D.J. pointed out.

"D.J. do me a favor. Quit helping," Chris growled, still pressed against the window.

D.J. threw his hands into the air and turned to storm away from Chris. He jammed his hands back under his arms, shivering. There was a bench just a little ways down from the store that Chris was looking in and the shaggy-haired youth sank down on it. He sighed and held his head in his hands.

Chris pulled away from the window and looked around, realizing D.J. wasn't right behind him any more. Worried green eyes looked down the street to where D.J. had sat down on a bench, shivering. Chris hadn't meant to be harsh with him, but this wasn't exactly a non-stressful situation they were in. He limped over to the bench and sat down next to D.J. "Sorry for biting your head off. You okay?"

"Oh, sure. My best friend is trying to kill us, I can't shimmer, I'm going to die in _Sweden_ of all places and if I don't get home by curfew my Dad is going to kill me," D.J. got up and started pacing back and forth in front of the bench. He was rubbing his arms, "On top of that I'm freezing, I'll probably get hypothermia - which won't matter because Wyatt is going to kill us first… and I'm hungry."

Chris stretched his left leg out in front of him and bent over, massaging it, "Wyatt is not going to kill us. He may try, but I'm not going to allow that to happen. I'm going to find a way to get him back. I'm going to figure out why we can't leave." He was trying to sound optimistic, something that D.J. very much needed. "You're not going to die in Sweden. Can't guarantee that your Dad won't kill you if you break curfew again though."

Chris's breath plumed in front of him as he flexed his ankle, "The highlight of that is at least you won't die in Sweden."

D.J. stopped pacing and glared at Chris, "If we get out of here… I'm going to kill both of you."

"_When_ we get out of here you may try, But…" Chris trailed off as he saw the car's headlights come around the corner. "Hide!!" Chris shouted, jumping to his feet quickly. He winced as that sent a lovely jolt of pain up his leg. His physical therapist was going to chew him out when they got back. When. Chris had to keep thinking positively. D.J. bolted behind a large statue and Chris ran over to hide behind it as well.

The car stopped and Chris winced as he heard the car's doors opening. Wyatt was using their empathic link to try and kill him. Chris leaned against D.J. and lifted a hand to his temple. Chris closed his eyes and concentrated on putting up mental barriers, blocking himself from his older brother. When he was sure he had done a good enough job, he opened his eyes and looked at D.J. Chris made a motion towards the alley nearby. He darted a look out around the statue and pulled D.J. into alley.

Wyatt was out of the car, with two of the demons behind him, Rebecka was leaning on the opened door. The blonde witchlighter was looking around and Chris saw the frown pass over his otherwise blank expression when he realized that he couldn't sense the link any longer. Chris inwardly let out a sigh of relief. D.J. was huddled behind him, peering over his shoulder as they watched the demons and Wyatt search the area where they had been. It wouldn't take them long to find where the duo were hiding now.

"He's so doing my chores until he leaves for college," Chris said under his breath.

"He kills you and he's going to go ballistic," D.J. whispered.

Chris nodded thoughtfully as he started backing up from the mouth of the alley. Yes, maybe the demons were planning on that. Get the Twice Blessed Witch to kill his own little brother and make him completely snap. That was probably the only reason the demons hadn't just killed Wyatt yet. Chris shivered, but not from the fact that he was freezing. He _had_ to save his brother. "I need to check the library D.J. If I know what we're dealing with, I can fix this. Now help me find the damn library…"

The two of them glanced back once more and crept out of the other side of the alley, taking off down the street that ran parallel to the one they'd just been on. D.J. was ahead of Chris and glanced back with a frown when he noticed the younger boy wasn't keeping up nearly as well any more.

"Are you limping?" D.J. asked.

"I'm fine," Chris lied, "We can't slow down or stop. I've blocked Wyatt from sensing me, but that doesn't mean they won't search the whole area. It would've been really helpful if I could've gotten a better look at that map."

D.J. slowed down so that Chris could keep up and ignored the look Chris shot him over it. "It's not sympathy okay, I'm tired," the older boy said. They crossed over one of the streets running perpendicular to the one they were on and kept going. Just before they got to the next intersection D.J. grabbed the back of Chris's jacket and pulled him into an alcove.

"What the hel--" Chris started, but D.J. covered his mouth with his hand. A second later, Chris saw the reason why. A pair of manticores walked around the corner, their snake-like eyes searching the darkened streets. Chris's heart hammered against his ribs and he cut his eyes to look at D.J. The older boy had his lower lip caught between his teeth as he watched the two demons turn another corner and go out of sight. Only then did D.J. remove his hand from Chris's mouth and let him go.

Chris turned to look at D.J. bewildered, then looked towards where the two demons had gone. D.J. straightened his jacket and whispered, "I could hear them coming. You okay?"

Chris nodded, but swallowed the lump of fear that had risen in his throat. The underworld was apparently joining forces for this. Not a comforting thought at all. "That makes at least six different types of demons working together on this. C'mon, we've got to keep moving." He started off again, ignoring the occasional twinges of pain. He heard D.J.'s sneakers pound up next to him. Chris looked towards him and gave him a small tense smile, "Thanks for that back there."

"Right now, you're my best chance at survival so that I don't die in a country that doesn't celebrate the Fourth of July," D.J. said, "I don't want to die in Sweden when they don't even know how to have a good cookout."

A cold gust of wind cut through the streets and had both boys shivering all over again. It also sent some papers scattering across the street and drifting over their feet. D.J. bent to snatch one as it went past and a smile broke out onto his face.

"Are you planning on starting a fire?" Chris asked, turning around when he noticed D.J. had stopped. The older boy was looking at the paper and smiling. "D.J.?"

"We needed a map, right?" D.J. asked.

Chris raised his eyebrows at him. D.J. held up what he had grabbed. It was stained, ripped in places, but there it was… a discarded tourist's map of the city. D.J. brought it over and pointed to a spot. Chris could have jumped for joy right then.

"There's no handy 'You Are Here' arrow to help us out, but there's your library. Now we just have to figure out where _we_ are," D.J. said.

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**Author's Note**: Are you on the edges of your seats? I'm really excited about this story, I can't even begin to tell you guys! We're having a lot of fun working on it and I'm seriously hoping that ya'll are enjoying reading it as much as we're enjoying writing it. You have to let us know what you're thinking though… we're dying to know. We need your reviews! Click the button. Do it… do it! You know you want to… the more reviews we get, the more likely that the updates will come quicker!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: _strikermac_ and I are really sad, because we don't own Charmed, or any of its characters… we just wish we did. It's got us really depressed, but you know how it is.

**Author's Note**: This is going to be a really long and rambling author's note to respond to some of the anonymous reviews that have popped up. So if you don't feel like reading it, go ahead and skip on down to the story. You won't hurt my feelings. Just remember to read and review.

I just had to drop a note to 'Sarah' one of our anonymous reviewers. We're not trying to make Stockholm sound dull sweetie - that's just D.J. being D.J. It's just his way of trying to cope with the situation. I mean, give the guy a break - he crashed and burned with his date, now he's stuck in a foreign country, their magical means (ONLY means) of transportation off the continent are down, he's a compulsive worrier, and he's trying (failing) but he's _trying_ to lighten the mood in his own twisted way. It's not that we're trying to pick on the capital at _all_, in fact, we wouldn't have chosen it as the setting if we didn't have some interest in it. I would actually love to go there some day now that I've been reading about it as research for this story. I love traveling and going to new places. The city is absolutely beautiful in fact from the pictures we've looked at.

D.J. would be griping like that if they were stuck in anywhere (even the Bahamas!) in the situation they're in and still annoying the hell out of Chris. It's the situation, not the setting. ;) D.J. will have a moment of excitement and appreciation for the country later, when he's not experiencing a life or death situation. Right now he's in panic mode. If he were in Ireland (where my family is from) we would have him complaining about things there too. Of China, Australia, New Zealand, Paris. D.J. complains when he's scared, even worse: he cracks stupid jokes when he's scared. It's a story. The boy's scared.

Sorry if his whining bothers you Sarah, but he's making _strikermac _and I laugh, because he's just picking at stereotype (common misconception) things… in doing so he's being a stereotype himself: a "typical American tourist" really. Something that in my business travels I've had to deal with being among folks complaining about 'inconveniences' (differences) between other countries and the U.S. I'm making fun of D.J. and Americans like him really. This summer I traveled in Belgium, Scotland, Ireland and France. Two of the people that I was traveling with spent quite a bit of time complaining about one thing or another - be it lack of a place that they could get the breakfast they wanted, understanding different languages (okay Scotland and Ireland they spoke English - but they complained because they couldn't understand some people's accents), they complained because there wasn't air conditioning, etc. etc.

I had to play translator, peacekeeper, and had to keep a clamp on my frustration over their lack of open-mindedness to other cultures. You can take some Americans out of the U.S., but you can't take the U.S. out of some Americans. This is just my personal little pet peeve with traveling in the company of some people… ;) Kind of like D.J. Having the added tension of this stressful situation is just compounding what he's already feeling. You have to take him with a grain of salt sometimes and look at the humor in it. Don't take it personally that D.J. is complaining. He's always like that. You can understand why little Chris turned him into a toad. AND told him to stop helping. ;) I'm glad you like the rest of the story so far… and I hope everyone else does too.

Someone else asked about the other two girls (Katina and Pernilla)… they weren't evil guys. They were just normal innocent teenagers, it's only Rebecka that's the demonic one. Just thought I should clear that up. :) The demons didn't show up until the other two girls left. True that Pernilla is a pain in the ass, but she's not demonic. He didn't get any bad vibes about the other two girls. Katina was a little bit forward with Chris there at the end of the date deepening the kiss and stealing an extra one, but she was just as shy as he was there at the beginning.

I know there are folks that are waiting for updates on the next episode of my Destined series… and I promise it's coming! We're just on a roll with this one right now, really excited and fired up about it, and we don't want to lose the momentum that we've got going. Ya'll don't mind do you? So long as I'm updating one of the stories? Right? Keep the hot streak moving. When you have momentum, use it.

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"This place is so much bigger than I thought it was," Chris whispered under his breath as he frowned at the map. He could see the Globe Arena where they'd first left from and it was a good long haul from there to the library. They had run maybe three miles or so since they had been going, even though it felt like so much more. But Chris didn't know what direction they had been going. They could be even farther away from the library now. D.J. was keeping his mouth shut for the moment, for that Chris was grateful, it was giving him the chance to think uninterrupted.

Chris ran his finger along the map while D.J. held it. They were exposed standing out where they were on the sidewalk as they looked at the map that fate had handed them. It had to be more than just a happy coincidence that the map was in English. Very few things, if any at all, were really coincidences. Chris's Dad always liked to say that everything happens for a reason. D.J. had pointed to the spot that Chris was focusing on, the National Library. The younger boy lifted his head when he heard a car coming as saw the flash of headlights. D.J. looked up with panic, ready to run again, but the vehicle turned off before it even got to them. Chris breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's that street sign down there say?" Chris asked D.J. They couldn't stay out in the open like this, that car had been a reminder of the danger they were up against. Finding the map and the immense relief over it had been a temporary distraction from the fact that there were demons patrolling this part of the city for them.

D.J. turned, and then looked at Chris, "Do I _look_ like I can read that from here?"

Chris sighed and started walking towards it, until he could make out the letters that spelled out the name of the streets: Folkungagatan and Östgötagatan. Okay, that gave him something to work with. He could figure out where they were from that and how far they still had to get to the library. D.J. was still frowning at the map and scratching his head when Chris started making his way back to him.

D.J. lifted his eyes to look at Chris, who was still favoring his left leg more than he would have liked. If Chris kept pushing himself beyond his limits they were going to be even more screwed than they were now.

Chris got back to D.J. and the older boy held out the map for him. Chris scanned over the map, running his finger along the streets starting from the Globe Arena and working his way out in a circle until he found the two streets that they were closest to. "Do you want the good news first or the bad news?"

"I don't care, just tell me," D.J. said, not liking the tone in Chris's voice.

"The good news is that we were mostly heading in the right direction, the bad news is that we didn't get as far as I thought we did. We've still got a few miles to go before we're close to the library…" Chris pointed to where they were, then to where the library was, "We're not even in the main part of the city yet. We've got another couple of bridges to cross…"

"How many is a few miles?" D.J. asked, frowning at the distance from where Chris had said they were and where the library was located, "This map is in kilometers."

Chris stared at D.J. for a minute, "You're really going to graduate from high school and you have no idea how to convert to the metric system?"

"I've used math class as naptime since middle school," D.J. said with a shrug.

"I'll make it simple for you. Round it… two kilometers is a little over a mile. We've got maybe two and a half… three miles, something like that left to go," Chris said, taking the map from D.J. He looked at it one last time to get their heading and folded it up. He stuck it in his back pocket and started jogging. They needed to get moving again, they'd been in one place too long. Chris heard D.J. let out an exasperated sigh behind him.

D.J. didn't say a word as they walked along. Three miles, maybe more they had to go. Chris wasn't moving nearly as fast as he had when they had first started running, or even as fast as he had been going half an hour ago. D.J. raked his hands through his damp hair, shivering from the chill. He was trying to think of movies to relate to this situation, but the only ones that were presently coming to mind were horror films. D.J. grimaced because the reality was bad enough.

They jogged for a good thirty minutes before Chris stopped and leaned over with his breath pluming into the air. D.J. wasn't quite as winded as he stopped beside Chris, but he was growing ever more concerned about the younger boy. Chris was rubbing his leg again through his jeans, bent over so that D.J. couldn't see his face. A set of cars passed by and D.J.'s heart leapt into his throat. Chris's head lifted up as the headlights passed over them and approached. Both he and Chris froze in place until they moved on. Just people heading out to whatever nightlife the city had, or on their way home from wherever they had been.

Chris looked down the street after where the cars had turned and sighed heavily, "Let's go, we have to move. We're sitting ducks out here in the open." Sucking up the pain, Chris started jogging again, but he couldn't really hide the fact that he was limping any longer. D.J. wasn't jogging after him.

"Take it easy, I'm dying here." D.J. said. He was tired, certainly, but he wasn't dying. He just didn't think Chris could keep going the way he was now. Instead of running, D.J. started walking down the street.

Chris stopped and turned around to look at him as the shaggy-haired youth walked towards him. Chris frowned, "I'm fine. We have to get there so I can figure out what is going on D.J."

D.J. stopped for a second when he got to Chris. He jammed his hands into the pockets of his coat, "We're not gonna get there at all if we keep up this pace and you know it. Bad timing," D.J. shook his head and started walking again.

Chris sighed and walked after him, falling into step next to the older boy. Mists of white breath drifted into the air over the two American teens as they walked down the lamp-lit streets.

"Promise me something," Chris said quietly.

"What?" D.J. asked, looking at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"That if I can't go any more that you'll keep going."

D.J. stopped walking and turned to look at Chris, "What?" Chris stopped as well, his green eyes meeting D.J.'s. D.J. could see how serious he was, but he didn't like it one bit. The older boy shook his head, "Have you finally snapped? If you can't keep going T.B. is going to kill you."

"I get that D.J. Which is why you shouldn't stick around. This isn't about you and you know it," Chris sighed as he thought about his parents finding out he died in Sweden. And here he wasn't even allowed out of his room. He wrapped his arms around himself and lowered his eyes away from D.J.'s. "This is about me being the son of Piper Halliwell and the brother of Wyatt Halliwell. Unfortunately for me, that makes me the perfect target. You shouldn't die because of that… Transportation should come back on eventually."

Chris pulled the map out of his back pocket and tried to hand it to D.J. D.J. was still shaking his head, refusing to take the map. "No way. Cut the hero crap and quit trying to be a martyr. I'm not leaving my best friend's little brother in Europe alone to die."

Chris lifted his eyes to look at D.J., "I promised you that I wouldn't allow you to get killed in Sweden. That's all I was trying to do."

"Knock it off," D.J. punched Chris in the arm.

Chris smiled, "Well, if you're going to sacrifice yourself, I guess I better keep going then, huh?" Chris looked around, "This way."

They walked on for another forty-five minutes or so, keeping a slow but steady pace through the city. The pair of teens passed over bridges, walked by massive architectural buildings, and even saw a few more 'night owls' out and about the city. The pair of teens had passed a nightclub that had people lined up outside of it before they had returned to another rather deserted portion of the city. Every car that passed by sent their hearts racing. When they saw single individuals walking down the street they made a point to turn another way to avoid them when they could in case they were part of the demonic search parties looking for them.

Neither boy had said anything in that span of time, but finally D.J. couldn't stand the silence any longer and broke it.

"I could really use food," D.J. said, "Think there's a mini mart around. I could get some Cheetos or something?"

"Do you think of anything but food?" Chris asked.

"My best friend trying to blast me into oblivion is a close second," D.J. smiled as Chris chuckled.

"Food, Wyatt going all demonic, what is number three?" Chris asked. He stopped to compare the street sign to the map and broke into a bright smile, "Look, if we follow this road up here we'll end up right at the library."

"Looks like it's about another mile, huh?" D.J. asked, leaning over to look as well.

"Yeah, a little over a mile we're there," Chris said, folding the map and sticking it in his back pocket again. That brought some of his optimism back. He _would_ find a way to get them out of this mess. It would only figure that something would happen that would put a violent end to his renewed spirits. D.J. grabbed his arm as he was tucking the map into his back pocket and gave it a jerk. "What?"

"Wyatt," D.J. said, pointing to the familiar blonde-haired figure stepping out from between two buildings and the young blonde demon that was hanging on his arm.

Chris cursed. They should have been running this whole time. Their walking had given the demons time to catch up to them. Chris's eyes searched for the car, but didn't see it. It must be around there somewhere, but all he could see was Rebecka and Wyatt. They hadn't seen them… yet. Chris exchanged a look with D.J. and took off running. _Oh yeah, my physical therapist is going to be furious when I get home_, Chris thought with a wince.

Their footfalls echoed on the empty street and Chris made the mistake of looking back. He caught Wyatt's blank blue eyes and saw his older brother's expression harden. The muscular blonde and Rebecka were after them like lightning. A chunk of sidewalk behind them exploded, sending little chips of cement up against their backs as they kept running.

"He's going to be doing my chores until _I_ leave for college," Chris panted.

Headlights rounded the street in front of them and Chris jerked D.J. between two buildings, taking off down the narrow alley. He jumped over some fallen trashcans like hurdles and sucked in a breath through his teeth as he staggered. D.J. grabbed him, hauling him forward and keeping them both moving. Bricks right next to the two boys shattered with a concussive blast.

Car doors opened and closed behind them and Chris's jaw tightened. Sounded like the other demons were joining the foot chase again. Wyatt and Rebecka were so close behind them. Wyatt had always been able to outrun Chris, he'd always been the stronger, faster brother and Chris wasn't exactly in top condition right now. D.J. was breathing heavy again as they cut out of the alley and onto another street. A third concussive blast sent more chips of brick from the corner of one of the buildings that had created the alley as Chris and D.J. rounded it. They couldn't keep running, they had to outsmart them. Spells under pressure… Chris missed another step and D.J. caught him again, keeping them moving.

"Give us a break from all this action  
Help create a temporary distraction."

Chris said breathlessly as they dodged down between another set of buildings. He had no idea what the spell might do. Not exactly his best work either. Smoke billowed up behind them as they hit the alleyway creating a heavy smoke screen.

"That'll work," Chris managed. They kept running while the smoke lasted, turning onto yet another street and running across it. They weren't running in any logical direction now, just trying to get away from Wyatt and the demons.

They turned another corner between two historic looking buildings and Chris dropped to the ground next to the large brown dumpster. D.J. leaned against it next to Chris, resting his hands on his knees and said between panting breaths, "I'm… going… to die… in Sweden… and they don't… even… have… a decent… film industry."

Chris leaned his head back against the dumpster, not even caring at this point that the cold from the ground he was sitting on was seeping through his jeans. It felt good on his leg for one. He swiped his arm across his forehead; he'd broken a sweat again, before he leaned forwards to massage his leg. He didn't even look up at D.J. "Shut up already, you sound like a corrupted MP3 file. It wasn't funny the first time and guess what… it's still not funny," Chris said between gasping breaths.

"Forgive me for being realistic," D.J. panted, "Pointing out the fact that we are beyond screwed because in case you hadn't noticed the demons have my best friend, your big brother, and the most powerful witch alive and, oh by the way, _he's trying to kill us_."

"Just be thankful that Wy changed his mind about drawing Excalibur on his birthday because he decided 'it wasn't time yet'…" Chris said. He drew his toes back and flexed his foot, biting back the groan that wanted to come out. The boy closed his green eyes and leaned his head back against the dumpster again. "…you think we're screwed now? Imagine if Wy went all King Arthur on us?"

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"_I'm not coming out again so just go away!" Chris shouted at the door. He was sitting on the floor of his room next to his bed with his legs drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. _

_Someone knocked on the door again. He didn't know who it was and he didn't care. His mom, his dad, aunts, cousins… Chris shuddered and rested his forehead on his knees. He'd gone downstairs and into the dining room and… the knock came again._

"_I said GO AWAY!"_

_The jingling of orbs made Chris look up. Wyatt dropped down beside him and scooted up to lean on the bed too. Chris leaned against his brother and Wyatt draped an arm over his shoulder comfortingly. _

"_Aunt Paige said she was sorry. She really wasn't thinking bro… Mom yelled at her and now she's getting rid of all the decorations," Wyatt said, "…you okay?"_

_Chris shook his head and Wyatt gave his shoulders a squeeze. Chris knew Wyatt could tell that he wasn't okay. Not only could he see that Chris was on the verge of a breakdown again, but their brotherly bond told him. Chris pulled one hand away from his knee and wiped at his eyes. _

"_Nothing's going to happen to me Chris," Wyatt said, "but we don't have to go back out there if you don't want to."_

"_You'd miss your own birthday?" Chris asked, lifting his eyes to look at his brother._

"_It's not like turning eighteen is a big deal," Wyatt said with a small smile. Chris laughed just a little and Wyatt ruffled his hair._

"_Yeah it is," Chris said, still leaned against his brother and taking comfort in his presence. He was embarrassed about creating a scene downstairs in front of his whole family, but he'd just walked into the dining room to see all the decorations his Aunt Paige had put up for Wyatt's birthday and it had set his heart racing. He was finally starting to calm down with Wyatt there next to him, but he didn't want Wyatt to miss his party because of him. Watery green eyes met clear blue ones and Chris looked at Wyatt, "This is a big deal Wy. You're supposed to draw Excalibur today, not hide in here with me…"_

"_Yeah, about that…" Wyatt said, "I've been thinking. Mom just kinda arbitrarily chose my eighteenth birthday to pass the sword on to me. I don't know that I'm ready for it. It doesn't really feel like the right time, ya know?"_

_Chris pulled away from him, raising his eyebrows, "Are you kidding me?"_

_Wyatt shook his head, "I know I've been talking about it since we were kids and that I couldn't wait, but I changed my mind. I mean, I don't really _need_ it, right?"_

"_Yeah, but it's your magical destiny and…"_

"_Responsibility, fate, yadda yadda. I know Chris, but there's nothing that says I have to draw the sword today. It's not going anywhere. It's been sitting in our attic for all these years," Wyatt said, "It can sit a little bit longer… I don't think it's going anywhere."_

_Chris smiled, "Here I was all set to start calling you Your Majesty every chance I could get…"_

"_Yeah, well," Wyatt smiled back, "looks like you're going to have to hold off on that, little bro. Hey, how 'bout I go back downstairs and get us a couple of slices of cake and we can hide out in here 'til the day is over?"_

"_You mean it?" Chris asked._

_Wyatt smiled and climbed to his feet, "I mean it. There's nobody I'd rather spend my non-birthday with." _

"_Thanks Wy," Chris said._

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Chris closed his eyes, going from rubbing his leg to rubbing his temples.

D.J. frowned worriedly and looked at him, "Oh, no, please tell me you're not getting a headache now too…"

Chris opened his eyes, realizing what he was doing and lowered his hands. He gave D.J. a weak smile, "No. No headache. I was just thinking… about the whole King Arthur thing and trying to figure out how we're going to get Wyatt back. This is a huge mess."

D.J. blew out a huge sigh of relief that Chris was headache free. He knew this had to be bad for Chris. D.J. had to admire the younger boy's courage and his ability to think at all in the midst of this. The younger boy was just trying to get them out of this mess. And at his own expense he was trying to keep D.J. safe. Chris was tougher than he gave himself credit for.

The half-manticore stood up; his muscles were starting to stiffen up in the chilly air. He stretched, looking down at Chris. The younger boy had his eyes closed again, leaning back against the dumpster they had taken shelter behind.

"Whenever he does draw the sword and become King," Chris said, without opening his eyes, "he's still going to have to do my chores to make up for this…"

D.J. chuckled, but the laugh died in his throat when he saw the vehicle that had just pulled to a stop on the street just beyond. "Yeah, well, the demonic knights of his royal highness-to-be's roundtable just pulled up in their Mercedes again."

Chris opened his eyes and looked up at D.J. The older boy bent down and grabbed Chris, helping him to his feet, D.J. said, "Come on Lancelot, we need to move."

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They had lost the demons again, but only after Chris had telekinetically sent a fireball back at one that had been blocking their escape route. One demon down, but they had no idea how many more were still patrolling the city for them. Once they had shaken their pursuers again, Chris pulled the map out to consult it for where they were. Their mad race through the city to get away from the demons had put them a little off course.

"Okay, if we turn left at the next street and then make a right at the one after that, we'll only be a couple blocks away from where the library is," Chris said, wondering if he was ever really going to be able to catch his breath. It felt like every time they stopped for any length of time the demons caught up to them again. Chris took off again at a slow limping jog.

"Good," D.J. panted. He pulled his glasses off to wipe them because they were fogging up again, as he jogged after the brunette witchlighter, "I'm going to be in so much trouble with my Dad… it's like what, five o'clock in the evening at home now? He's going to be wondering why I'm not back for dinner. Maybe I should find a pay phone and call him, 'Hey, sorry Dad, I won't be making it back for that pot roast Isabel made. I'm stuck in Sweden. Yes, Dad, Sweden, were I haven't seen a single 7-Eleven.' Not that I want a Slurpee right now, it's cold enough that I'm getting brain freeze without it."

"I wish you'd get brain freeze," Chris grumbled, "but in order to do that, I guess you'd have to have a brain."

"Hey!" D.J. exclaimed, as they ran, "I am not the Scarecrow here, okay."

"That's right, I forgot, you're the Cowardly Lion," Chris huffed out, hiding a smile.

"Exact--HEY!" D.J. narrowed his eyes, "You know what? I'm buying you a pair of ruby slippers when we get home and calling you Dorothy."

"You do that," Chris said, "and I'll turn you into a Scottie Dog, put little red bows in your fur and carry you around. You know I can do it too. Toad."

"I hate you," D.J. said. He stopped talking as they rounded the next corner and they spotted the library ahead. There were still lights on inside for security purposes, but the place looked closed. After all it was like two in the morning. Sensible, normal people were sleeping with no idea of the demons walking the streets of the capital city hunting for a pair of American teenagers.

The two boys leaned heavily against the library wall once they reached it. Exhaustion was kicking in and the cold was becoming unbearable. Chris had marveled at the building when he'd first spotted it, wishing that he had more time to actually enjoy it. The sixteen-year-old pushed off from the wall and moved around with D.J. checking the doors to get inside. Of course they were locked solid. D.J. sank to the ground against one of them with a frustrated groan and covered his face with his hands.

That wasn't about to deter Chris. It was discouraging, but that only lasted for a heartbeat. They needed this. Glancing around for any cameras, security guards, or worse demons, Chris waved his right hand at one of the large heavy doors and it flew open. D.J. who had been leaning against the door sprawled backwards, blinking when it moved from behind him. He looked up at Chris and smiled wryly, accepting the hand that the witchlighter extended to help him up.

"I'm tired of this little demonic game. Kill the witch is just getting old," Chris said, closing the door behind them once they were both inside.

"Think that door had an alarm?" D.J. asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Don't know," Chris said, looking around. He held onto the handrail of the steps as he followed D.J. up them, "This place is amazing. I could live here."

"Mr. Wizard, think we can concentrate? Cops could show up, demons could show up, some Swedish librarian could show up." D.J. said.

"Really D.J. _look_ at this place," Chris marveled quietly as they made their way through the cavernous empty building.

"It's nice," D.J. said flatly, "I'd be a little more excited about sightseeing if we weren't being chased by demonic Wyatt and his posse."

"Can't say we didn't see a lot of the city," Chris said, smiling as he bent to turn on a computer and sat down. It was more like he sank down rather heavily into the chair. His leg wasn't going to hold up much longer if they kept up this pace. Chris stretched it out and wished he had something to dull the pain. "Now find me a book on planetary alignment and one on astrology."

D.J. was standing behind Chris at the computer as it booted up. He rolled his eyes, "Sure, how would I do that? They're in _Swedish_ stupid. You may have the ability to read Swedish, but newsflash… I can't."

Chris pushed himself out of the chair, "Fine. See what you can find on line. I'll go check the books." Chris limped off.

D.J. watched him go as he lowered himself into the chair, "You're not moving too good."

"I'm fine," Chris sneered as he headed towards the stacks.

Chris came back twenty minutes later carrying several large books and laid them on the table. He pulled a chair up to the table and opened the astrology book. Looking over at D.J., Chris saw he was having problems with the computer.

"What's wrong?"

"This hunk of junk is slower than mine at home." D.J. smacked the computer with his palm.

"Take it easy. We don't have enough money to replace it if we break it," Chris said.

They remained quiet for the longest time; D.J. still couldn't get the computer to load as Chris leafed through the books. Chris frowned at the material he had in front of him. Just this page was telling him he was in major trouble. He grabbed another book and flipped it open and held his hand over it until it telekinetically flipped to the page he was looking for. Chris moaned and wondered why he had let Wyatt talk him into ditching most of that lecture. "I'm so screwed." Chris whispered.

D.J. looked over his shoulder and watched Chris open yet another book, the tone of his voice terrified him. "Screwed? How badly are we screwed?"

"We're trapped here for another," Chris paused trying to calculate something in his head. "twenty hours, give or take. If I'm calculating this right. Need to do the math again though." He looked around. "Is there any paper and a pen around?"

D.J. got up from the computer, the darn thing was worthless to him anyway. He went over to search around one of the desks and found what he was looking for. Chris took it and started doing calculations and drawing little maps that had D.J. frowning. "How screwed?"

"Twenty hours or so, before we can get home. Mom and Dad should be home about that time. It is going to be a matter of us getting there before them."

"I am really screwed Chris. My dad is gonna notice when I don't show up tonight, and he is going right to your house first," D.J. said, sinking into a chair next to the younger boy.

"Maybe you can call him and tell him you're staying at our house."

"My dad may call your grandpa?"

"He's probably sleeping. We kept him awake half the night, plus he just got back from Germany the night before that. If he answers the phone, he should say yes to just about anything." Chris sighed. He felt so bad about tricking his grandfather.

"I can do that. Call dad, say your grandfather is taking the three of us out for pizza, can I stay at Wyatt's?" D.J. said.

"No, that won't work either." Chris wrinkled his nose as he lifted his leg up to rest on another chair. "The phone bill will say that the phone call was from Sweden. We'll get in trouble later."

D.J. groaned and folded his arms on the table, resting his head on them, "I'm dead."

"I sympathize." Chris winced as he moved his pant leg and noticed how swollen his ankle was. He sighed and pushed the pant leg down and closed his eyes. "So we have twenty hours in Stockholm to kill and my demonic big brother is trying to kill us, what do you want to do?" Chris smiled but D.J. could see the pain on his face.

"We could go for a run?" D.J. quipped.

"That sounds like a lot of fun." Chris rolled his eyes.

"What are we going to do?" D.J. lifted his head enough to look at Chris when he asked.

"Keep away from Wyatt until I can figure out how to change him back. Wish I had the Book of Shadows handy."

"Running with that big book is not my idea of fun. I think Wyatt should do _my_ chores for me until you leave for college as well."

"Good luck with that," Chris said and D.J. dropped his head back against the table again.

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**Author's Note**: Since my opening note was so long, I'll keep this one short. Read and review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: Well, darn… _strikermac_ and I still don't own Chris and Wyatt or Charmed. I don't want to think about it too much, it's going to make me start crying. We just own this plot bunny.

**Author's Note**: I won't torture you all with another long and rambling note to start this next chapter off. Just know that we really appreciate the reviews from you all and we hope that you're enjoying this story. I've been trying to respond back to reviews, but I know I'm a little behind in doing so on all my stories. I try to get back to the ones that are questions first and move out from there. …alright, I'm about to start rambling again, so I'd better just get on with the story…

In advance, I apologize if I completely butcher the Swedish language in this chapter. I'm trying my best not being a native speaker of it myself.

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"_So, you're a witch? Like a real honest to goodness spell-casting witch?" Katina asked, tracing her finger along Chris's neck so that it gave him pleasant little goose bumps. She snuggled closer to him on the bench in the leafy green park, "And an angel too?"_

"_I'm not feeling very angelic right now," Chris said. A fiery blush found its way into his cheeks as he cupped her face with his hand and leaned forwards. Katina pulled back from his attempted kiss, flushing and laughing coyly. She pushed her hands against his chest, holding him at bay._

"_You're going to be a terrible influence on me Christopher Perry Halliwell, I can see it now," Katina said in a chiming laugh. _

"_So, you don't care that I'm a witch?" Chris asked, lifting his hands to cup around hers. He moved her small, delicate hands to hold them over his heart._

"_Should I?" Katina genuinely asked. Her deep emerald eyes were sparkling so much that Chris could have lost himself in them. Chris shook his head 'no' and leaned towards her, she was leaning in towards him too…_

Chris was jerked rudely awake as D.J. threw them both to the floor. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep. D.J. covered Chris's mouth with one hand and pointed the other one in front of Chris' flushed face towards the door. The demons and Wyatt had just entered and were scanning the first floor for signs that Chris and D.J. were around.

Chris groaned slightly, not because of the pain that had eased slightly out of his leg since they had stopped, but because of the dream that he had been having when he was so rudely woken. He had been dreaming about Katina. Yeah, he was definitely in lust. Now here he was on the floor with D.J. for heaven's sake, and the older boy was holding onto him. Chris pushed himself up and brushed D.J.'s hand from his mouth to let his eyes follow where D.J. was pointing. The dark-haired teen grimaced.

Inwardly Chris cursed, outwardly he whispered, "Saw a fire exit when I was looking for the books earlier." He eased away from the opening that exposed each floor, "I don't want them to fire at us in the library. One little spark could send the entire building up in flames."

D.J. followed Chris into the shadows provided by the shelving units. The older boy was shaking his head and frowning at Chris, "How about worrying about _us_ getting blasted?"

"It's a library D.J. Have a little respect…"

"I don't like libraries. Libraries make me think of Mrs. Beckham. Libraries make me think of detention. Real detention isn't as much fun as The Breakfast Club, but you wouldn't know that Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes," D.J. accused, "Mrs. Beckham likes you, but she _hates_ me. Have you ever had a detention in your life?"

Chris ignored him, "Look, if we can get out of here without Wyatt blasting us or one of the demons burning the place down, _then_ I'll worry about us again, okay? There's a lot of knowledge in this place that I don't want to see damaged."

"Chris. I don't want to die. Not in Sweden. Not in San Fran. Not anywhere," D.J. said in a hissing whisper, "And what the hell are you blushing about?"

"None of your damn business," Chris said, "And I don't want to die either, but…" Chris went silent as he heard a noise behind them and looked around the corner of the aisle of books they were on. What he saw was one of the manticores they had seen on the street. Chris looked at D.J. and then at the exit only four feet away.

Chris was weighing their options and their chances. Chris pointed to his ears and cupped his hands over them, and nodded towards D.J. and then the fire exit. D.J.'s green eyes narrowed behind his glasses and he shook his head adamantly. The older boy pointed towards the adult manticore and held up two fingers, then shrugged, gesturing around the library. Chris rubbed a hand over his face and pointed at himself, then at D.J., then to the door before he covered his ears again. Chris pulled his hands from his ears and made a small sweeping gesture with his hand to indicate what he had in mind.

Chris didn't completely _like_ the idea. It would put D.J. in danger and Chris was trying to avoid adding to the danger that the older boy was already in. But considering the other options, he had reluctantly come to the conclusion that this was their best bet. The other boy didn't look like he liked it either, but was willing to follow Chris's lead. D.J. nodded and Chris covered his ears with his hands.

The high-pitched screeching sound echoed shrilly through the cavernous space. It reverberated off of the walls. The manticore's head whipped in their direction, its snake-like tongue darted out as it's yellow eyes focused on the two boys. It was racing towards them in a flash. D.J. closed his mouth and Chris pulled his hands from his ears and waved them at the demon. The creature went sailing through the air to smack into one of the walls, stunned but recovering quickly. Chris could hear the shouts from the first floor as the others realized what was going on.

D.J. and Chris took off simultaneously in a sprint for the emergency exit. D.J.'s hands hit the bar on the door first and they were both into the chilly stairwell. The alarm attached to the door started going off. The pair of boys were bounding down the stairs, adrenaline pumping. They reached the door to the outside as they heard the door above open again, but they were already out and running into the chill Stockholm night. Fleeing from Wyatt and the demons again.

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Chris and D.J. leaned against the ivy covered building, panting breathlessly. Chris wondered how Wyatt had found them at the library. He had blocked the link between them, hadn't he? Yet, Wyatt and the demons had found them anyway. At least they had discovered why all means of magical transport were down. Even a spell wasn't going to fix that until the planets alignment changed… about nineteen hours and counting now. So, in the next nineteen hours, Chris had to figure out how to get Wyatt away from the demons and get home before his mom and dad.

D.J. leaned away from the wall and looked back towards the mouth of the alley again. He felt like all they had done since the concert was run from one alley to another, which really _was_ all the two boys had done.

"Chris, we're gonna die in Sweden and I haven't even _seen_ a pizza place," D.J. complained as his breaths misted into the night.

Chris felt D.J.'s pain this time. He was starving.

"We need someplace to hide D.J.," Chris said, pushing off from the wall. They weren't going to find anywhere to take shelter standing around there. Chris took a step away from the wall and swallowed hard. Not for the worry, but for the sudden and rather intense pounding that had decided at that moment to knife painfully into his skull. His vision blurred. Chris closed his eyes tightly and grabbed the sides of his head.

D.J. turned from the mouth of the alley to look at Chris and the color drained from his face. "Chris? No, no, no buddy… this is a really bad time for this. That headache has to go away."

Chris groaned and dropped to his knees. D.J. hurried forwards to try to keep him from hitting the ground, but Chris was already down. The half-manticore cried plaintively, "Oh… this is not good. What can I do?"

Chris sagged back against the wall, holding his head in his hands. This was the worst one he'd had in weeks. It was bad enough that his leg was aching, but now he had to have a headache too? Terrible timing. "Here, need aspirin or something." Chris took one hand from his head and pulled the cash Wyatt had split with him out of his pocket. His hand was shaking as he handed the money to D.J. The teenage witchlighter opened his eyes a crack to try and look up at the older boy and squeezed them shut again with a quiet whimper. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his head against them, wrapping his arms over his head.

D.J. moistened his lips nervously. He stuck the money in his pocket and placed a hand on Chris's shoulder, "I'll be right back." Chris only groaned in response.

D.J. took off running down the street and sneered. _Doesn't this place have a mini mart?_ He turned the corner and spotted something that took the sneer from his face: a movie theatre. That returned a brief bright smile to his features, a Grease film festival. That was the perfect place to hide. One problem solved, but he still needed somewhere to get some aspirin. Across the street from the theatre he received his answer to that problem too. A small 24-hour grocer that was open.

"Thank goodness for small miracles," D.J. whispered under his breath and sprinted across the street into the store.

Once he was inside, D.J. walked up and down the aisles searching for a bottle of something that resembled any familiar over-the-counter medicine like Tylenol. He wasn't seeing anything of the sort. Frowning in frustration, he grabbed a bottle of water and went to the cashier. "Uh, hey, do you carry Advil? Motrin? Tylenol? Anything like that?" D.J. set the water on the counter, digging into his pocket for the money, "Or maybe know somewhere around here that does? It's kind of an emergency."

"No English," the man shook his head.

D.J. groaned. It figured. He raked his hands through his hair, "Can this night possibly get any worse… Medicine?" D.J. tried to mime it out as the older man watched him.

The store owner shook his head, rattling off something in Swedish that had D.J. throwing up his hands, "Whoa, whoa! Slow down there. I don't know what you're saying. Oh, my God I hate foreign languages… this is why I almost flunked Spanish. My friend needs some, real bad. I… ugh, you don't understand me. I don't understand you… Look, I need some Tylenol. Geeze… now _I'm_ going to get a headache."

The man started speaking again and it was just more nonsense to D.J. who groaned and wished that he had that whitelighter ability to speak any language. He could really have used that right about now. D.J. raked his hands over his head again, making his shaggy brown hair stick up at awkward angles. This was getting him nowhere. All he knew was that Chris needed the medicine and that this was taking too long. He had left the younger boy out there in the street and vulnerable.

"Just the water then," D.J. said, pulling a twenty out of his pocket. He'd have to find somewhere else for the medicine, or find someone who could translate, but as much as he knew Chris needed some pain reliever, he couldn't leave him out there alone for too long. The man frowned at the twenty dollar bill as if trying to decide what he was supposed to do with the foreign currency.

"Uh, I don't have any euros or whatever other currency you might take. But my friend needs this and I'm willing to over pay," D.J. said.

The man shook his head and said something in Swedish that D.J. didn't understand. The guy handed him the money back and held his palm towards D.J., shaking his head. D.J. handed him the money again, "This is all I've got…" The teen started to walk away but the guy grabbed his wrist and continued arguing in Swedish.

"No pay. No sell," More Swedish. It was more gibberish to D.J. who didn't know the language and flew over his head. This was wasting time that he didn't have.

"I _tried_ to pay! I don't have any euros! No pesos! No swedos! Just this! That's all I've got, this is an emergency!" D.J. said, starting to feel even more desperate, and a little angry, "I need _this_ and I need somewhere to get medicine for my friend! Huge emergency, he needs it. You have no idea. This is like life and death serious! Do you understand that? Medcine!"

"Don't have. You pay," the man shook his head and pointed to the water bottle. His face was growing stormy over the American teen shouting at him. His rough calloused hand was squeezing D.J.'s wrist tightly. D.J. was ready to just bolt out with it and just risk getting arrested in a foreign country when he felt a light touch on his shoulder from behind.

The boy turned his head to see a pretty woman in her early-to-mid twenties standing behind him. Golden-highlighted hair hung in gentle waves down her mid back, framing a smoothly complected oval face. "_Han har bara amerikanska pengar. Han säger att det är ett nödläge_," the woman said to the store owner. The owner frowned at her. She further implored him,_ "Är du villig att ta emot amerikanska pengar? Han vill betala extra för besväret._"

D.J. didn't know what she was saying, but he got the feeling she was arguing on his behalf. With all of the miserable things going on, the intervention of this stranger was another small miracle. The owner nodded reluctantly and released D.J.'s arm. He held out his hand and nodded to the twenty, "Yes. Fine."

The woman gave D.J.'s shoulder a pat and smiled at him. D.J. handed the money to the storeowner who pocketed the bill. "I still need medicine for my friend," D.J. said.

"_Var kanna han köpa medicin?"_ the twenty-something woman asked the storeowner in Swedish. She kept her hand resting lightly on D.J.'s shoulder. Even though he had no idea who she was, the gesture seemed comforting.

"_Han kanna bara köpa medicin med ett apotek. De er stängt till morgon,"_ the storeowner said, _"Jag säljande inte det här."_

A thoughtful sound came from the woman, but she nodded to the owner,_ "Tack själv."_ Her brown eyes turned to D.J. and spoke in perfectly flawless English, "He says you can only get medicine at the pharmacy, but they're closed until morning."

D.J. groaned and looked over his shoulder out the door and into the lamp lit streets. This was so not good. "…what am I gonna do…" D.J. whispered under his breath, not meaning for it to be aloud. The woman's hand slipped from his shoulder. He looked up at the helpful stranger to see her reaching into her pocketbook.

She produced a bottle of Tylenol and held it out to him, "Here."

D.J. blinked, taking the offered bottle and looked at her. There was a warm light in her brown eyes that was calming and that made him feel -at least for that moment- that this would all work out somehow. The woman smiled at him. "Go take care of your friend."

The teenager started quickly for the door. He paused when he reached it to look at her again, "Thanks." He took off out the door, sprinting back towards where he had left Chris.

When he got back to Chris, the younger boy was in tears. D.J. frowned in sympathy and crouched down in front of him. The shaggy-haired youth unscrewed the cap on the water bottle and popped open the pill bottle, holding them out to Chris. "Hey Chris, here, I got you these. And I found us a place to hide."

Chris looked up at D.J. with pain shining in his green eyes. With shaking hands, Chris took the bottle of pills first. He shook several into his hand before he took the water bottle. D.J. chewed on his lip, watching.

"I'm gonna pass out," Chris said in a pained voice. He popped the pills into his mouth, several more than he was supposed to, and swallowed them down with the water. D.J. took the pill bottle back from him and pocketed them. Hooking an arm around Chris's slender waist he helped him back up to his feet and started to guide him towards the theatre.

"Hang in there Chris, I'm going to get us to the hiding place and you can sleep. But I need you to stay with me."

"Hurts."

"I'm sorry Chris, I really am." D.J. walked up to the window, with Chris leaning on him heavily. "Excuse me? Do you speak English?" he asked the young woman in the ticket window.

The girl looked up in her booth from the book that she had been reading and looked at the two boys standing there. She had an accent, but her answer to D.J.'s question was, "Yes."

"Someone just robbed us, all of our euros are gone. My friend needs to sit down. I have American currency, I was wondering if we could get in if I gave you that?" D.J. asked.

The ticket girl was studying Chris, as she asked, "Your friend needs a hospital?"

"No, just to sit. Rest a moment," D.J. told her. No, definitely no hospitals. Not when neither of them had valid ID's. They didn't have passports or any means of explaining how they had entered this country.

She didn't seem completely convinced that Chris wasn't in need of a hospital, but she shrugged her shoulders, "Forty American and you can sit inside."

"Robbery," D.J. grumbled under his breath. He handed the money to her and she gave him the tickets. "I love Grease though."

D.J. led Chris inside, keeping Chris's arm looped over his shoulder and holding him up. Chris's feet were dragging and his head was dipped forwards. "Almost there buddy, and you can sit down and rest…"

Chris didn't respond, not even a nod to let D.J. know he had heard him. D.J. chewed on his lower lip in worry, buttoning down on his own fears to take care of Chris. There wasn't anyone else in the theatre, since apparently it was between films again. The two Grease movies were on a continual loop and just now whoever was in charge of keeping them going must have been changing over the reels from one to the next. D.J. guided Chris into an aisle towards the center of the theatre and helped him sit down. Chris just sank into the seat when D.J. released him.

The older boy grimaced and shrugged himself out of his jacket. He balled it up like a pillow for Chris to lay his head on. Behind him he heard the opening of the movie just beginning. D.J. knelt in front of Chris's seat, settling his friend down before he sat down next to him. The shaggy-haired youth pushed his glasses up his nose once he had seated himself and reached over to rub Chris's back as the younger boy curled up, using D.J.'s coat as a pillow. D.J. was glad for the younger teen's sake that he seemed to go out pretty quickly.

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Piper paced back and forth in the hotel room. Leo lay on the bed watching his wife as she would walk as far as the phone cord would let her pace, turn, walk back to the desk and repeat the process. The woman was wearing a hole in the carpet and was chewing one in her lower lip. She had been trying to call her father for the last two hours since they had left the restaurant. Now she was on the phone waiting for her youngest sister, Paige to answer.

"If one hair on either of those boys heads has been harmed, Leo, I swear every demon in the underworld is going to suffer," Piper said, pacing again, "I've had this terrible feeling all day. I wish Dad would have answered the phone…"

"He's probably asleep Piper. He was already jet-lagged and then the boys kept him up all night. You know they did," Leo said, watching his wife.

"Then one of the boys should have picked up!" Piper said, listening to the ringing of the phone as she waited for someone to answer at the Mitchell house. It was only six-something on the west coast.

"Hello?" a somewhat sleepy male voice asked.

"Henry?" Piper asked.

"Mmm…" the man grunted.

"Where you sleeping?" Piper asked into the phone.

"…babysat the twins and Hank today…" Henry said yawning, "…Paige just got home. Want to talk to her?"

"Yes, please…"

"PAIGE!" Henry shouted, "She's coming."

A second later, Piper heard the shuffling of the phone and heard some muffled words that she assumed was Henry going back to sleep. Paige cleared her throat, "Hey, Piper… how's New York?"

"Busy. How are things in San Francisco?" the older woman asked, finally stopping her pacing. Leo leaned back on the bed and cupped his hands behind his head while he listened to Piper's half of the conversation.

"I think Henry had a busy day and is glad that I made it back," Paige said, "I spent most of the day on the bus because I had to visit a charge."

Piper frowned in confusion and sat down in the chair at the desk, "A bus? Paige, what did you need a bus for to visit one of your charges?"

"Uh… that would be because of the temporary down-time of all magical means of travel," the younger woman answered, "Happened at a little after eleven o'clock this morning here. One of my charges called for me about ten, so I got stuck in L.A. when it went down and had to work my way home the normal way."

"Huh?" Piper asked. Leo shifted, raising his eyebrows at her and wondering what was going on, "I was just going to ask you if you could orb over to the Manor and check on them. Dad isn't answering the phone and I've got an odd feeling… but what do you mean magical travel is down?"

"The boys didn't tell you did they? Leo either?" Paige let out a sigh and Piper could just picture the younger woman rolling her eyes, "All the kids at Magic School had to sit in on a special lecture about it this week. It's a once every hundred years thing. It's because of the planets Piper. No orbing, no shimmering, no blinking, no spell-casting for transport, nothing. It'll clear in another twenty hours or so, I'm not looking at a clock right now…"

Piper cut her eyes towards her husband and raised an eyebrow at him. "No, not a single one of the males from my house felt it necessary to share this information with me…"

"I can drive over there if you want me to check on them…"

"No, don't worry about it," Piper said, actually feeling the first tiny hint of relief she had all day, "When I talked to Dad last it was about ten and the boys were asleep. If they can't orb and the demons can't get to them, then I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. Dad might have just taken them to another movie."

"I thought they were grounded?" Paige asked.

"Paige… this is my father we're talking about… do you really think he's being a stickler for the rules I set?" Piper asked.

Paige laughed, "True. Well, if you want me to drive over there later to check on them, just let me know… I'm going to be up a while. Henry is worn out, but the kids still have energy to spare. We missed breakfast at the Manor this morning..."

"I know, I'll make up for it next week. Thanks Paige," Piper said, "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye sweetie!"

"Bye," Piper hung up the phone and turned around to look at Leo, "No magical transportation, huh?"

Leo flashed his wife an innocent smile, "I told you not to worry about the boys, Piper…"

"Uh huh…" She approached the bed, "So… here we are in New York City, on a Saturday night… alone…"

Leo's eyebrows climbed, but then he smiled, "I'm forgiven for forgetting to tell you?"

"No," Piper said, "But I know a couple of ways you could make it up to me…"

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D.J. was watching Olivia Newton-John belt out "Hopelessly Devoted To You" for the second time since he and Chris had taken shelter in the theatre. They were still the only ones in there and D.J. had to admit he was enjoying this way too much. It was enough that he sort of regretted some of his earlier complaints about the country. Anywhere in the world that would run a continuous showing of two great movies back to back couldn't be all bad. He had already watched Grease play through once, and Grease 2 as well; now here he was watching the original a second time while Chris continued his fitful slumber.

The shaggy-haired youth looked over at Chris who was still out. He was feeling a protective loyalty towards him. The poor kid, he'd had a really tough day. His brother was trying to kill him, he was running on a leg that wasn't a hundred percent yet, his only means of transportation off the continent was down, he had a splitting headache and D.J. realized that he hadn't been making matters any easier for him.

D.J. nibbled on the candy he had purchased a little while ago and leaned back against his seat. He was saving some for Chris whenever the younger boy came to. It wasn't a meal, but it was something to take the edge off and not make his stomach feel quite so hollow. D.J. popped another piece of candy in his mouth and smiled up at Olivia on the screen. She wasn't Michelle Pfeiffer, but boy could she sing her heart out. A moan from Chris had D.J. darting his eyes towards him. He gave a quick scan of the theatre and was relieved that they were still alone.

Chris mumbled Wyatt's name in his sleep, his delicate features knotting up as he whimpered again. D.J. winced, hoping the barrier that Chris had put up would stay in place. "Chris, buddy, this is not the best time to want Wyatt…"

A second later Chris jerked upright, gasping for breath. The sudden movement from him made D.J. jump and some of his candy spilled from the little box, raining down around him.

"Wyatt," Chris cried out. He bent over forward, taking shaky breaths. If ever he needed his brother it was then. Salty tears leaked down his cheeks.

"Barrier Chris," D.J. said when his heart dropped back out of his throat, "We can't let Wyatt find us."

Chris lifted his face to look at D.J. like the other boy had six heads. He was disoriented and the fog from the nightmare hadn't quite worn off yet. Chris looked up at the large screen, then back at D.J. in confusion that quickly melted into shame. Wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand, Chris's cheeks turned red and he got up and ran out of the theatre.

D.J. frowned and his mouth dropped open. He picked up his jacket and hurried out into the lobby after Chris. The half-manticore scratched his head when he came into the brighter lit area and squinted his eyes as they adjusted to the change in lighting. The door into the men's room was swinging and D.J. walked that way in concern.

Chris was bent over the sink in the men's room, splashing water on his face and taking short hyperventilating breaths. The image of Wyatt laying on the living room floor, blood surrounding him was burned into his mind… but then, when Chris had gone towards him, Wyatt had sat up and shot a fireball at him. Chris splashed more water onto his face and cupped some into his palm to drink before he settled his palms on the countertop and leaned forwards. His shoulders were shaking.

"You okay?" D.J. asked hesitantly as he stepped inside.

Chris lied, "I'm fine." He rubbed his eyes wearily and looked towards D.J. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" D.J. asked, surprised. He didn't think Chris was fine, but the apology threw him.

"I went out on you. Then I woke up and made a scene. Waking up crying like a baby," Chris said, "I'm sorry…"

D.J.'s eyebrows climbed behind his glasses. "Chris… you really don't need to apologize. Really. If I kept having nightmares about my Dad dying, I'd be a mess too Chris. You don't have anything to be sorry about."

Chris' breaths were still shaky, uneven, but he felt humiliated. He had just started to get Wyatt's best friend to treat him like a human being instead of an annoying little kid and so what did he do? He had passed out, had a nightmare, and had cried in front of him. D.J. walked over and pulled Chris into a hug, rubbing his back. Chris closed his eyes.

"…you think I'm a wimp, don't you…?"

"Chris, there are many things that I might call you, but wimp is not one of them," D.J. said, releasing him, "I know I used to call you a baby and worse when we were younger, but you're quite possibly the most un-wimp person that I know." D.J. decided to try a subject change, "How's your head?"

"Still hurts, but it's better…" Chris admitted, "What time is it?"

"Time to realize we are really screwed," D.J. said, weakly smiling. He was only half joking when he added, "My Dad is going to have to come all the way to Sweden for my body. When he gets it back home, he's gonna kill me again."

Chris managed a ghost of a smile as well, "You think you have problems? My older brother is going to kill me. Then my mom is going to summon my dead ass and kill me again."

"Your mom is scary, Halliwell. Think my dad will have her summon me as well?" D.J. asked moving towards the door so they could go back into the theatre.

"Oh no," Chris said, shaking his head, "She'll do it herself. Kill us both personally. We're stuck in Sweden."

They stepped back into the darkened theatre and Chris was actually able to process what was on the screen. He turned to look at D.J. with an 'are you kidding me?' expression, then rolled his eyes when he saw the smile on the movie buff's face. "God, this movie is old," Chris said as they made their way back to their seats. D.J. held the box of candy towards Chris and the two of them sat down. They had been granted a reprieve from running, but there was no telling how long it was going to last.

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**Author's Note**: Psstt!!! Sarah don't hide under your desk. :) We just didn't want anyone to think we were being disrespectful about their country! You're a wonderful reviewer. We appreciate ALL of our reviewers! Thanks for reviewing again by the way. Hopefully I didn't kill your language too much and if the words/sentence structure/whatever are wrong please help us correct it!

Stormy, the cheetos line in the last chapter was out there just for you. I forgot to mention it in my author's note in that chapter, so I'm mentioning it now.

Something else, something else… oh yes! People! If you read this, write us a review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I had a dream that we owned them, but then I woke up. Sigh. Oh, well. At least we can still write about them and keep dreaming.

**Author's Note**: Thanks for the help with the Swedish Sarah! Need some in this chapter too probably. :) I um… I'm a bit OCD, so I _had_ to go back and edit that scene where D.J. gets the medicine. Your mention of not being able to get it at the local grocer made me do it. I just couldn't leave a detail like that go un-edited. It would've driven me crazy not to have it correct. So… I had to go back and rewrite that scene, including the dialogue, so the Swedish is probably grammatically wrong again. I want it to be like a native speaker, but not being one myself---you know how it is. Anyway, I edited that scene… yeah… sooo… ahem… I guess you guys are wanting me to get on with this chapter though. Okay, I won't keep you waiting, here goes Chapter 7. Ya'll have _strikermac _to thank for most of this chapter and for it getting out so quickly, I've been stressed and struggling the past couple of days.

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The darkened movie theatre continued to provide shelter for the pair of tired and now ragged looking American teenagers as the images Grease 2 flickered in motion on the large screen. Chris looked over at D.J. who was softly singing the words to the song that the group of girls in the movie was singing. It had finally happened, D.J. had lost his mind. The younger boy hit him in the arm and D.J. looked away from the screen as the one girl told the adults that they didn't get to do all four seasons for them yet.

"What?" D.J. asked with mild annoyance that his movie experience had been interrupted. It didn't matter to him that he had already sat through it once tonight.

"You need help," Chris said, "Quit singing along. It's embarrassing." Chris turned around in his seat, scanning the theatre to make sure they were still alone. He settled back down and looked at D.J.

"I love this movie. This is a classic, plus, look at her. Isn't she just gorgeous?" D.J. asked, enraptured by the film again.

Chris looked up at the screen. The blonde girl D.J. was referring to was indeed pretty. Chris had to admit that. Actually, she was beautiful. At least one of D.J.'s crushes had some merit to them. Too bad she was really old now. "You love every movie ever made," Chris mumbled under his breath.

"This is my favorite song," D.J. started singing.

Chris nearly died when the first line was 'If you really wanna know, what I want in a guy.' and there was D.J. singing along. Chris slid down lower in his seat and groaned, but the other boy clearly didn't care. Rubbing his hand over his face and rolling his eyes, Chris straightened back up and looked over his shoulder into the rest of the theatre again. He whipped back forwards and grabbed D.J. in order to pull him to the floor. They were no longer the only ones in the theatre.

"They're back," Chris whispered, grabbing hold of his jacket that he had left draped across the seat next to him, sliding his arms into it.

"Wrong movie," D.J. growled. He crawled along the ground, trying to glance at the screen as the character Stephanie sang and moved around in the movie. "Oh, tell me this isn't happening. Damn you Wyatt Halliwell," D.J. grumbled.

Chris gave him a small shove forwards from behind to get him to keep moving along the aisle. They needed to get out of there.

"T.B. owes me big time for this," D.J. hissed. He tried to get a glimpse of Michelle Pfeiffer climbing up the ladder as Chris pushed him towards the emergency exit.

"Will you get over it, you own it at home. You can watch it there," Chris whispered. He wondered how he had ended up dealing with a ten year old. They got to the end of the aisle and stayed crouched low, but a concussive blast that ripped apart several seats and blew their parts into the air at the two teens indicated that they'd been spotted. Chris and D.J. both straightened and sprinted down towards the emergency exit. The younger boy was following D.J.

Chris turned slightly, waving his arm to try and push Rebecka and Wyatt away with his telekinesis when another blast hit him in the shoulder. Chris staggered back and hit one of the theatre's chairs. D.J. turned and grabbed for him.

"Damn it Wyatt, he's your brother!" D.J. shouted, pulling Chris through the exit door. Chris staggered out into the cold morning air after him, squinting at the brightness that the change in lighting caused. It was morning. Chris held a hand over his shoulder. D.J. meanwhile, grabbed a board and jammed it in the door to block it from opening before he looked back at Chris, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just great." Chris used his telekinesis to push a dumpster in front of the door. They took off running down the alley. Chris held his shoulder as he ran, mumbling, "He's doing my children's chores until _they_ leave for college."

"You have kids?" D.J. looked at him with complete seriousness and Chris rolled his eyes. D.J. kept the serious act as they ran, "Don't you have to, you know, be with a girl first?"

"If Wyatt doesn't kill you D.J. I will," he hurried down the street, looking over his shoulder and hoping that Wyatt wasn't right behind them.

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Rebecka tried to push the door open and snarled when she discovered that it was being blocked. She screamed in a rage and turned to look at Wyatt with angry eyes. The tall, blonde witch was standing just behind her, obediently motionless and awaiting her command.

"Let's go Wyatt," she took his arm and dragged him through the darkened theatre, "Your annoying little brother has gotten away again." Rebecka blew out an angry breath and pulled the young man behind her and through another door into the alley outside, "He certainly is a clever little witch isn't he? Well, he is going to be a dead witch before this day is over."

The Darklighter waiting in the alley looked at Rebecka and Wyatt emerging from the theatre and sighed.

"He's gotten away again. That is the last time your incompetence will be tolerated," the demonic girl snarled at him.

"Me? What did I do? _You_ allowed him to get away," the bald Darklighter accused.

"Let's go. They're still in the area. We may be able to find them yet," Rebecka said, starting towards the street where the others would be waiting with the car, "Come along Wyatt dear. Time to find your little brother and kill him." She reached back behind her to take the blonde teenager by the hand, pulling him along like a puppy on a leash.

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Chris ran down the now populated streets with D.J. lagging behind him. Looking over his shoulder Chris didn't see signs of Wyatt or the demons that were controlling him, he slowed down and looked at his shoulder and winced. D.J. stopped in front of bench and collapsed. Chris looked up and down the street and sat beside him.

"T.B. is gonna be royally pissed that they made him hurt you." D.J. panted out.

"Who says we have to tell him? Half the underworld is on the loose, it could have been any of them." Chris moved his jacket to get a better look at his shoulder.

"He'll know."

Chris leaned over and rubbed his leg. D.J. was right, Wyatt _would_ know and then his older brother would have a huge case of the guilts over it.

"That looks really bad, Chris," D.J. said, frowning at the wound.

Chris sniffed at him and shrugged himself back into his jacket. It stung, but he rolled his eyes at D.J., "Oh please, you're worse than Wyatt. This is nothing, rather this than a Darklighter arrow. Had two of them in my side yesterday morning."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. When did you plan on telling me that you'd been attacked yesterday?"

"I didn't think it was relevant."

"You didn't think it was relevant that they tried to kill you yesterday?" D.J. asked, looking at Chris like he was stupid.

"It happens occasionally D.J. it's no big deal. Wyatt healed me and all is well."

"Except at this moment, Wyatt is like a demon robot," D.J. pointed out. D.J. looked down the street with a new level of paranoia. He hadn't thought about Darklighters. If Chris got shot by one… the older boy made a face and raked his hands through his hair, worrying.

"Hey, the highlight is that my head and leg don't hurt as badly," Chris said. D.J. lifted his head to glare and Chris moved his arm and blew out a breath. The headache had really been a blessing. It had given him time to rest and medicate his leg. It hadn't been the best way to go about it, but the truth was, he wouldn't have stopped for that long if not for getting that headache.

"Where should we go?" D.J.'s question interrupted Chris's thoughts.

"Ah..." Chris pulled the map out and studied it. "No place obvious, she's using Wyatt to find us. He'd know that I needed to find out why transportation is down. So the library would have been an obvious place to find me. He knows you have a love for cheesy movies, so a movie theatre was another obvious choice."

"I take offense at that last comment. Grease and Grease 2 are not cheesy. They're nostalgic," D.J. said.

"If that makes you feel better about it, keep deluding yourself," Chris said, running his finger along the map and frowning at it as he studied it.

D.J. heard his stomach growl. "I'm starving. I need food."

Chris looked around; his stomach had been burning for a while now. Medicine on an empty stomach was never a good idea. He'd only had an apple for breakfast the day before. He had a few bites of food at the concert, but nothing that could be counted as a meal. The couple pieces of candy at the theater hadn't helped matters, now he was starving as well.

"I guess the banks are closed today, huh. It's Sunday," Chris mused, looking up and down the street with a sigh.

"A bank?"

"To exchange our money."

"American currency." D.J. sneered. "Had to pay twenty bucks for a bottle of water last night because I didn't have any of their currency."

"So what do we have left?" Chris looked up from the map.

"Ah...thirty-two dollars," the other teen answered.

"You spent sixty dollars?" Chris asked incredulously, his jaw dropped as he looked at D.J. "Sixty dollars?"

"Hey, next time I'll nap and you find a place to hide from T.B. and his royal henchman in a foreign country," D.J. rolled his neck and moaned. "Least we had some down time for about five and a half hours."

"Don't think I don't appreciate the effort, but _sixty dollars? _ My mom is gonna go ballistic." Chris stood up. Folding the map, he stuck it in his back pocket again. "We've been here too long, let's go. We need food and a place to hide and you need sleep."

"Sleep? Sleep is good." D.J. smiled tiredly as he followed Chris.

"Let's see if we can talk that bake shop into taking American currency," Chris said, nodding his head towards the place that had just flipped over its 'Open' sign. The strong smells of freshly baked bread and breakfast pastries were already drifting out into the street alluringly. Chris's empty stomach growled and he rest a hand over it before starting towards the shop.

"Bake shop? Bake shops are good too," D.J. said, trotting to catch up with Chris.

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Victor Bennet jerked awake with a start and almost fell off of the couch. He looked around in groggy confusion at the darkened house around him. It took the man a moment to realize where he was and when he did he sat up and listened for a moment. It was absolutely silent. Victor reached over to turn on the lamp next to the couch and rubbed his face sleepily.

A look at his watch told him that it had just turned midnight. He had slept the whole day away. Wincing at his stiffened old muscles, he pushed himself up and rubbed his lower back. He hadn't meant to sleep that long. He'd only meant to take a short nap. There was no telling what the boys had gotten up to while he was out. If Piper found out about this, his daughter was going to be furious.

Victor walked through the house, turning on a couple of lights here and there so that he could see where he was going. He'd have to go check on the boys. It was so quiet in the house, he hoped that they were here and hadn't gotten into some kind of trouble. The man walked up the stairs, feeling his joints creaking just like the stairs of the old Manor itself did.

The doors to both of the teen's rooms were closed and Victor walked to Chris's door first, peaking inside. Just enough light filtered in for him to see the slim shape of his younger grandson asleep on top of the covers. Victor slipped in and pulled a blanket from the foot of the bed and draped it over him, quietly slipping back out. He went to Wyatt's room next, finding the older boy there too. Relieved, Victor shut Wyatt's door back as well. Whatever they had done while their grandfather was sleeping they were back now.

Victor walked back downstairs to go back to sleep. He'd have to ask them what they did all day in the morning. He doubted the pair of them had actually stayed put in their rooms. He had no idea that his real grandsons weren't actually in their rooms at all. They weren't even on the continent.

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The Palace of Scheffler was the perfect place to hide out for a while. Also called the Haunted Mansion, it was a building owned by Stockholm University and was located somewhat near their student health center. It had been built in the 1690s by the merchant Hans Petter Scheffler and was actually the most famous "haunted house" in Stockholm. The University had owned it since the 1920s and used it as a storage facility for paintings. On occasion it was also used for conferences, but considering it was Sunday, Chris doubted there would be anyone there.

The boys crossed the lawn towards it and stopped at the front door. Predictably the building was locked, but Chris waved his hand at the door opening it so that they could slip inside. D.J. hastily followed after him and Chris shut and locked the door back.

"I don't like all this breaking and entering stuff," Chris mumbled under his breath.

"Running from demons supersedes that in my book any day," D.J. said, looking around. He nearly jumped a foot off the ground when a semi-transparent young woman floated through one of the walls and slowly circled around him. There were a few other spirits looking towards the pair of teenagers that had entered their home. The young witchlighter and the half-demon could see them, which apparently intrigued the ghosts.

Chris smiled at them, "_Inte sinne oss. Vi er rättvis går till vila för lite fördriva tiden. Vi don't snål någon skada."_

Chris didn't realize what he had just done, but he shot D.J. a look when he noticed the other boy was staring at him like he was out of his mind. The brunette witch asked, "What?"

"What did you say to the ghosts?" D.J. asked, bewildered.

"You heard me," Chris said, "I just told them that we were resting and meant no harm."

"I heard you speaking gibberish is what I heard," D.J. said, "Was that Swedish?"

"I spoke Swedish?" Chris asked, smiling. His Dad would have been proud that he'd tapped into that whitelighter ability naturally.

"Look at all these paintings, Winnie would love this place," D.J. said, already off and walking down the hallway. The female apparition followed after him, swaying her ghostly hips.

"She would hit you if she heard you calling her that," Chris told D.J. He grinned at the ghost that seemed to have taken a shine to D.J. and moved to catch up with the other boy. The remaining ghosts returned to their own business, leaving the two boys to their rest.

"She's not here to hit me, is she?" D.J. asked, smirking.

"No, but I am… and the chivalrous thing to do is defend her honor," Chris punched D.J. in the arm. D.J. laughed lightly and rubbed the spot that Chris had hit. "Looks like this place is used for storage, maybe meetings or something. Doesn't look like it's typically open for visitors. Probably been months since any one other than a janitor doing a routine check and cleaning has been through here."

"Yeah, nice creepy little layer of dust on a lot of this stuff. Grandfather clock. C'mon, we gotta go in another room," D.J. started off again.

"Why?" Chris asked, cradling his arm against his chest.

"Your family and grandfather clocks. Need I say more?"

Chris laughed, "Okay, so we settle down in this room here, sound good? Picnic in a Haunted Mansion… see, not so bad. _ Ignorera oss_," Chris said to a ghostly couple that were seated at the window of the room they had chosen. Chris sucked in a breath through his teeth as he lowered himself to the floor.

"You should take care of that shoulder. I'm telling you, it looks bad."

"Looks worse than it is."

D.J. wasn't convinced, but he sat down with Chris. The ghostly girl that had been following D.J. sat down next to him and scooted over. D.J. looked at her crossways, then back to Chris, "You going to be okay if I get some sleep?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah. I'll take care of it. Take a load off." Chris smiled at the ghost girl and winked at her, _"Han har en besvärlig dag."_

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Wyatt Halliwell's head felt foggy as he blinked his eyes and looked at the Scabber Demon sitting beside him. _Oh crap._ He had no memory of anything since about midway through the concert. By the looks of the light coming in through the tinted windows the sun was up._ How the hell did I get here? Where's Chris and D.J.? Chris!!!? Where the hell is he? Why the hell are demons driving a Mercedes?_ Wyatt thought to himself. He tried not to show any outward signs of the inner panic that was slowly beginning to build. Instinctually he tried to orb in order to get away. Much to the Twice Blessed Witch's dismay it accomplished absolutely nothing. _Chris?! _

Without attracting too much attention (at least, he hoped), Wyatt looked at the others in the car. In the front seat were three human looking demons. Beside him on the right Rebecka sat, glancing at her nails. To his left was the Scabber demon. Wyatt's heart started racing. _Chris! A little help here._ He tried to reach his brother, but there was nothing. Chris had put up a strong barrier to block Wyatt. _Did these demons try to use our link to kill Chris?_ The thought made Wyatt's stomach turn.

"Where would we find the little brats? They are out of their element, they can't orb or shimmer, where the hell are they?" Rebecka asked as the others remained silent.

"Maybe we should try the youth hostels. They need to sleep, right?" the driver said as he looked in the rearview.

"You should have let me just shoot the boy, and be done with it. Instead you want to play games and have his brother kill him," the bald-headed man in the front seat between the other two human-looking demons said. He turned around and looked at Wyatt. He lifted a crossbow and pointed it over the back of the seat, aiming it at Wyatt's heart, "You should let me shoot that one too. Riding around in a car with a bloody whitelighter… We have the Twice Blessed Witch right here, it would be so easy to…"

Wyatt's heart was hammering in his ears now, but he tried not to move or even blink. They must have had him under some sort of spell, or in a trance, or something. They didn't know that he was out of it yet, but he was sure that when they figured it out, his usefulness would be at an end. The Darklighter's finger hovered over the trigger and squeezed. Wyatt tried to orb again and nothing.

The arrow flew towards his chest, but Rebecka reacted like lightning and snatched it from the air when the tip was a centimeter from striking Wyatt. She snapped the shaft in half with her fist.

"NO," Rebecka snapped, "We need him. We follow the plan. The younger one dies first." The 'girl' narrowed her eyes. Wyatt wanted to swallow his heart back down to get it out of his throat, but he stayed still. "The younger brother dies _first_."

The Darklighter scowled, "I don't see what difference it makes. As long as they both wind up dead before the end of the day."

"If you do that again Garret," she said, "You will be very sorry indeed…"

"It slipped," Garret replied, smiling toothily at her before he lowered his weapon and turned around.

"If we cannot pull this off, the future will look very bleak for all of us," Rebecka glared icily at the back of the Darklighter's head, then turned towards Wyatt, "Wyatt, since we found your brother at the library and the movies where would he go next?"

Wyatt sneered, but quickly wiped the expression from his face, keeping his features blank. They had been using him to track Chris and D.J. "Library." Wyatt said it in the most monotone voice he could, hoping that was how he had sounded before. He wished that he could remember _something _of the last several hours. It was just a complete blank, like someone had shut off his mind completely. _Chris!!!_ Wyatt tried again and still nothing.

"We've already been there," Rebecka hissed.

"Which is why he would go back. You have already searched the place, so he would assume it would be a safe place to rest." Wyatt sat quietly, hoping to goodness that he knew his brother as well as he thought he did. Chris wouldn't dare go back to the library or somewhere the demons had already searched unless it was a last resort. _Chris?_ Wyatt tried again, but then he noticed the pain starting to filter through the barrier that Chris had up. His heart started beating even harder against his chest. One of the demons was bound to notice, but Chris was hurt and Wyatt had no way to get to him.

"Yes," Rebecka said, "Double back and rest some place we've already searched. Go! If he's not there we'll check the theatre again, then the youth hostels. We are running out of time. I do not want this opportunity wasted. Killing one brother is not the plan. I want both of them. The Hallliwell brothers must die today!"

Wyatt had no idea what was going on, but he was riding around with a pack of demons who had every intention of using him to kill his baby brother. And then, after Chris was dead, they would kill him. Planning to kill him was one thing, but trying to kill Chris was another. These demons would be the ones to die today. One way or another.

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**Author's Note**: The plot ever thickens… write us a review. I'm apologizing in case my grammar or wording is wrong with the Swedish, but here are the translations as best as I can manage:

_Ignorera oss_ - Swedish for "ignore us".

_Han har en besvärlig dag_ - "He's had a difficult day."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: It's sad, really, because _strikermac_ and I still don't own Charmed or Chris and Wyatt. We aren't making any money from this, but it is pretty entertaining to write about them.

**Author's Note**: Ya'll don't want to hear me ramble, ya'll want me to get on with the story. You know it's true, but I do have just a little bit of rambling to do. Sarah! Thank you, thank you so much for the help with the Swedish! You're a blessing, honestly! And you're not at all to blame for the revision… lol, we would've gone back and written it any way if I had stumbled across something on the net to point out that you had to purchase medicine at a pharmacy. You just helped it happen sooner rather than later. :D I've just been having a busy and hectic couple of days.

Thanks so much for your help! You're helping us make the story more 'real' by giving us tips from a native speaker of the language and by helping us correct things like the pharmacy. We really appreciate it! Oh… and you're welcome for the tip on the Haunted House. I love ghost stories. Who knows, Chris might be popping back into Stockholm again some time and he can play tour guide for you. And please, don't stop pointing out things to us if they're going to make the story better. Thanks so much! Now, on with Chapter 8…

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"Where the hell did those little brats go?" Rebecka screamed as they stormed out of the third youth hostel. Only the demons who were human in appearance were out patrolling the city now, the others had been forced back into hiding until magical transportation came back online. The Darklighter and one of the other human-looking demons walked after the leggy blonde Enchantress and the teenage witchlighter that she was dragging behind her by the arm.

"When I find that little witch I'm going make him beg for death. It should have been simple. Capture the older one, not too hard. Stupid men, never thinking with their brains." She pulled Wyatt along the path as she sneered. "Then have him kill the younger brat. His wings are clipped, he can't speak the language, where the _hell_ is he?"

They stalked back towards the car where the other human-looking demon sat in the front seat, keeping it running. The driver got out of the car and moved around to join them.

"Not here either?" the demonic driver asked. The Darklighter shook his head and pulled the map back out, spreading it across the hood of the car. Rebecka moved next to him, releasing Wyatt's wrist.

"No," Rebecka spat as she stood beside the Darklighter.

"He's here, we'll find him," Garret growled.

Another car pulled up beside theirs and two more human-looking demons got out, shaking their heads, "The manticores are in hiding. We haven't been able to find any signs of the two half-breeds." The pair of them moved in to join Rebecka and Garret at the map.

Wyatt stayed silent. He had been giving them false information for the last three and a half hours, running them around while he continued to listen and try to find out more about their plans. They had been speaking freely around him, still thinking him under their control, but aside from the fact that they wanted to kill Chris first, and that he and his brother were going to create serious problems for the underworld in the future, he had learned very little. He still didn't know why the demons were driving around, or why he couldn't orb unless it was still part of the side effect from whatever Rebecka had done to him. He just had to bide his time until he could escape. Rebecka was the one that had been calling the shots with the demons.

"They need some place that is quiet, that is empty and that they could rest in," the Darklighter said, running his finger along the map, "Here. The Haunted Palace."

"Haunted? Yes, no fear of the unknown. Let's go. We only have nine hours or so to kill the younger Halliwell. I will _not_ fail." She pushed the one demon out of her way so she could get into the car.

Her moving gave the Darklighter a good view of Wyatt and he sneered when he saw Wyatt's eyes, "The whitelighter is listening. He's no longer under the spell!"

"What?" Rebecka looked at her watch, she had been so busy chasing that stupid little witch, she forgot to keep up the enchantment on the older one.

She went to grab Wyatt and kiss him, but Wyatt sent the three demons closest to him flying through the air. He smiled when he realized at least his other powers seemed to work, even if his orbing didn't. He turned and flicked his wrists blowing up the demonic driver who had been blocking his way to freedom.

Wyatt took off across the parking lot. His sneakers pounded against the pavement as he ran like the wind, hoping that he wouldn't end up with an arrow in his back. As he took the corner he looked over his shoulder, they weren't directly behind him; he had to find Chris before they killed his baby brother.

The Darklighter aimed at Wyatt as the blonde boy took off. Garret had him in his sights when Rebecka stopped him. She pushed the point of his crossbow down, making him miss the golden opportunity. She smiled as leaned against the black Mercedes. The Darklighter bared his teeth, for the second time she had prevented him from killing the whitelighter.

"No! He will lead us right to the little witch. He's been leading us on a wild goose chase, he knew his brother wouldn't be in any of those places. We follow him and we find the younger witch. Once Christopher Halliwell is dead, Wyatt will be easy pickings. With both of them out of the way, our futures are secure." She got into the car and smiled out the still open door at the Darklighter.

"You better be right," Garret growled at her.

"Are you questioning me?"

"As a matter of fact I _am_."

With that Rebecka lifted a hand and the Darklighter exploded into a black smoky haze. His crossbow dropped to the pavement with a clatter. She leaned out of the car and picked it up. She lifted an eyebrow at the other demons who were standing around, staring at the spot where the Darklighter had been.

"Anyone _else_ want to question my authority?" the woman hissed.

"No, you were chosen for this task by the wise ones. We trust you." The one human like demon looked at her with a humble smile. He dipped his head forwards.

"Drive. He's heading to the Haunted Palace, it was the perfect hiding spot. We'll kill the three of them there."

The remaining demons nodded, inclining their heads to her as they returned to the cars, a new driver taking the place of the one that Wyatt had vanquished. Rebecka stroked the crossbow as she settled it into her lap, a cool smile toying at her full lips.

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Chris nudged D.J. lightly. The older boy swatted at him and rolled over, mumbling something incoherent. "Psst. Dee, rise and shine."

"…five more minutes Dad," D.J. mumbled, pulling his jacket that he had been using as a blanket over his head.

Chris smirked at the shimmering, transparent ghost that sat watching them on the floor nearby. She had been sitting near D.J. the whole time the shaggy-haired teen had been sleeping, smiling as she toyed with her ghostly hair. Chris shrugged at her, and then nudged D.J. again. "Five minutes is up," Chris glanced at his watch, "Actually it's been about three and a half hours… we've got to get moving."

D.J. grumbled something, and then slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. He reached for his glasses and slid them onto his face, jumping a bit when he saw the ghostly girl observing them. More specifically observing _him._ D.J. yelped, and slid back away from her, "Whoa! Scared the hell out of me." He turned to look sharply at Chris.

"I think she has a crush on you," Chris said with a smirk.

"As if _that's_ not a blow to my ego," D.J. mumbled as he stretched, he looked at the young woman, "No offense, but you're not really my type."

"You're going to hurt her feelings," Chris said, climbing to his feet. He had taken one of the sheets that he'd found draped over some furniture in another room and torn it to fashion a bandage for his arm. He'd doctored it as much as he could while D.J. was sleeping. It hurt like mad, but as he'd told D.J. the bright side was that he wasn't thinking about his head or his leg any more.

"I figure we can try to get some lunch somewhere and move to a more public place that the demons would be less likely to attack us in. I also thought of a couple of options for getting Wyatt back," Chris said.

"You want to go somewhere public?" D.J. asked, starting to put on his coat, he twisted to stare at the ghost as she attempted to 'help' with it. "Do you mind?" The ghost floated back, lifting her hands, but she gave D.J. a coy smile.

Chris raked his hand through his hair in amusement, _"Han är singel, vet du,"_

"Stop that!" D.J. accused, pointing a finger at Chris, "I don't know what you said, but whatever it was, I don't like it. You're smiling too much for it to have been anything good." The ghost wraps an arm around D.J.'s shoulder and he pulls away from her, "Please, lady!"

"Just trying to help make up for you striking out earlier," Chris said with a laugh. He started for the door.

"You know, Chris. We need to sit down and discuss some guidelines if you're going to be trying to play matchmaker," D.J. grumbled. He smiled tightly at the ghost and hurried out after Chris. The ghost was waving at him from the window when they got outside. She blew him a kiss and D.J. shuddered, darting quickly to catch up with the younger Halliwell brother.

"Number one on the list: _living_. This is a non-negotiable and important characteristic in a potential significant other," D.J. outlined, "The only exception to this would be if you found a hot, young whitelighter that would be remotely interested in spending her eternity with a half-demon. It's still borderline creepy though, I don't see how your Mom could sleep with a dea--"

"Don't finish that thought D.J. Seriously, do _not_ finish that thought," Chris said as they started across the park that was next to the Haunted Mansion. Chris slowed, his eyes widening at a slight nudge against the block in his mind. He whirled around to see Wyatt running towards them. Chris hastily grabbed D.J.'s arm and started sprinting as panic gripped him. The pair of them took off down the street.

Wyatt gaped as his brother and best friend tore away, leaving him in the dust. "What the hell guys," Wyatt muttered, sprinting after them. He was confused by their hasty and fearful flight away from him and more than a little hurt that they were afraid of him. He gave chase only to have Chris turn and wave his arm at him telekinetically sending him sailing through the air to hit the grass and slide backwards against the base of a tree. The older witch grunted as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Damn it Chris!!" Wyatt shouted as he pushed himself back up and started after them again. His feet pounded against the sidewalk as he chased after them, "Chris!!! At least let me heal you!!"

Chris stopped when he heard that, but D.J. kept running a few more feet, before he turned around, wondering if Chris had lost all sensible thought. Chris studied Wyatt taking in the fact that his brother's blue eyes seemed clear again. Cautiously Chris dropped the barrier that he had blocking the link between he and his brother and felt a flood of relief at what he sensed from it. His brother was back.

"Wy?"

"Who'd you expect?" the older witch asked, walking over to him.

"Demonic Stepford Wyatt, actually," D.J. said, still hanging back. Chris on the other hand was walking towards Wyatt, "Chris… if this is a trap…"

"Paranoid much, D.J.?" Wyatt asked. The blonde looked at Chris's shoulder and winced, reaching towards his younger brother and the crimson coloring soaking through the makeshift bandage, "I did this, didn't I?"

Wyatt glanced up and down the street, and then held his hands over the wound, healing it in a golden glow. He pulled the bandage off and double-checked to make sure Chris was in one piece again.

"You didn't mean it," Chris said as he rolled his shoulder and sighed with relief. He wrapped his arms around Wyatt and gave him a tight hug. Wyatt hugged him in returned, relieved that no permanent damage had been done.

"Yeah, but I still did it," Wyatt said, holding his brother tightly.

"It wasn't your fault, Wy," Chris said, taking comfort in the embrace. This was what he had needed after that nightmare, he'd needed Wyatt there and there weren't enough words to describe how relieved Chris was to have him back.

"Yes it was," the older boy said guiltily.

"No it wasn't," Chris said.

"_Yes_, it was," Wyatt repeated a bit more forcefully.

Chris made a slightly annoyed sound and pulled back. Yeah, Wyatt was definitely back to himself, taking the weight of the world onto his broad shoulders _and_ all of the blame too. "Okay, it was your fault, because _you_ made out with a demon. _Demon-breath_. You should brush your teeth."

"How'd you get away T.B.?" D.J. asked. Wyatt had healed Chris and now they were hugging, not to mention having resumed their usual brotherly banter, which was the deciding factor that made the shaggy-haired youth decide to come closer. His friend was back.

"Took off running. I had to hope I was faster than they were," Wyatt said, ruffling Chris's hair as he stepped back, "I didn't know she was a demon."

"Yeah, but you still have demon breath," Chris smirked, "Any idea why they're after us?"

"Actually, it seems that our very existence is going to make some things rough on the demons in the underworld," came the older brother's answer.

"Score a point for the good guys," D.J. quipped.

"But their goal is to kill us today, to eliminate that issue," Wyatt said, shoving his hands into his pockets, "And I can't orb."

"Join the club, neither can I. D.J. can't shimmer. You can thank the cosmos for that…. by the way, next time you want to talk me into going late to a lecture. Don't. I'm going to ignore you. All magical transport is still going to be down for another nine hours or so. We're just going to have to stay hidden until then."

"Guys, easier said than done," D.J. said, his green eyes going wide behind his glasses as he saw the Mercedes speeding up towards them.

Wyatt looked over his shoulder and grabbed Chris's arm, "Run!"

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Chris looked over his shoulder; he didn't see any demons chasing them anymore. Wyatt and D.J. had gotten so far ahead of him, that at this time, he couldn't even see them. Chris stopped running and limped along. He'd forgotten how fast his brother could be. Chris looked around and leaned against building and tried to catch his breath.

Wyatt and D.J. had left him in the dust, but at least they had lost the demons a while back. Chris wanted to sit down and take a breather, but he knew he had to keep going.

"I think I've learned my karmic lesson," he panted to himself. He leaned his head back against the bricks of the wall and closed his eyes. "…when I get home, I'm going to sleep for a month… I hope Grandpa's okay…"

With a sigh, Chris opened his eyes and moved away from the wall. He wasn't getting any closer to catching up with D.J. and Wyatt standing there. All he was doing was giving the demons more of an opportunity to catch up to him. Gritting his teeth, the younger Halliwell brother started off down the sidewalk again at a slow, but steady pace.

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Wyatt Halliwell looked over his shoulder and stopped dead. D.J. staggered forward resting his hands on his knees trying to take in some air.

"Where's Chris?" Worry flooded through Wyatt and he whipped around in a circle. The demons wanted his brother dead first. "D.J. where's Chris?"

"He was right behind me, but you were going so fast."

"This is not good." Wyatt started back. How far back had they left him? What was he thinking? They wanted to kill Chris first and he had lost his baby brother. "This is not good at all. We have to find him."

D.J. nodded and followed Wyatt down the street, "He's around, we'll find him."

Wyatt didn't stop, his eyes frantically searching the streets that they had been down as he jogged back. D.J. hurried to keep up with him.

"He can take care of himself T.B." D.J. said as he jogged beside Wyatt.

Wyatt shook his head, "You don't understand."

"Enlighten me then, Halliwell. I'm dying here."

"The demons want to kill Chris first, _then_ me," Wyatt said. He didn't understand why the order mattered, but he wasn't about to let them do any more harm to his brother than they already had, "They want to kill my baby brother and I lost him."

D.J. blinked as Wyatt looked around. The blonde witch forced his fingers through his hair, "Where is he? I can't sense him. Why can't I sense him?"

"Wyatt, get a grip. We'll find him." D.J. looked around, now more than a little nervous that Chris was missing.

"You don't understand, I can't sense him Dee. Nothing. I've got nothing," Wyatt stopped, standing in one place as his eyes searched the streets wildly.

"If you weren't hyperventilating maybe you would be able to. You need to relax. We'll find him," D.J. looked into Wyatt's tearing blue eyes and moved around in front of him. The shaggy-haired teen placed his hands on Wyatt's shoulders, "Now take a deep breath. We'll just re-trace our steps."

"You're right, I need to calm down and re-trace our steps," Wyatt took a deep breath, trying to settle himself. Only then did he sense Chris. Through their link he seemed to be okay. Wyatt started down the street again.

Together Wyatt and D.J. turned the corner and relief flooded Wyatt when he saw Chris making his way down the street. The brunette teen was limping a bit and Wyatt cursed himself. His little brother's leg was still healing. Wyatt jogged down the block and looked at Chris.

"You okay?" Wyatt asked.

"I'm fine, just couldn't keep up."

"I'm so sorry," Wyatt sighed wearily.

Chris shrugged his shoulders, "It's okay. I just can't really run any more…"

"I wish I could fix it. Damn Elders." Wyatt looked up and then to his brother, "When we get the ability to orb again, I ought to orb up there and give them all a piece of my mind."

"Wyatt, what did mom say about us having to experience some things? We have to get sick, we have to get hurt and we have to learn to deal with it."

"Whatever. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"So, where are we going?" D.J. asked as he sat against the building.

"To get something to eat." Wyatt said as he touched his stomach. "I'm starving."

Chris handed D.J. the map and pushed off the wall. "I'll go see if I can talk someone into taking American currency. D.J. find us someplace to hide until we are able to go home."

"Easier said than done." D.J. mumbled as he scanned the map. Chris slowly limped off a little ways down the street towards a couple of open restaurants.

"So what did I miss?" Wyatt sat next to D.J. who chuckled and shook his head. "What?"

"What did you miss? From the start? First you sucked face with some sort of demonic seductress while I completely struck out with my date and Chris got an email address and a kiss, meanwhile, you were _still_ sucking face with that demon chick, and then you tried to kill us in the parking lot, then you tried to kill us in an alley, then you tried to kill us at the library, then..."

"I get it. Yes, I tried to kill you two. I'm already feeling guilty enough D.J. you really don't have to try any harder to pile more on. I'm already burying myself. I meant how is my brother?"

"His leg was pretty bad. Then he had a killer headache, passed out on me, had a nightmare and then you blasted him," D.J. cocked his head to one side and sarcastically added, " You know what? I think he's doing pretty good."

"Headache? Whoa, how bad was it?" Wyatt asked, more guilt layering onto what was already there as he looked at D.J.

"Like I said he passed out on me. It was pretty bad."

"Damn it. He had one the other night too," Wyatt hung his head forward and covered his face with his hands, mumbling through his fingers, "But they've been getting better, I had hoped..."

"Tattle tale." Chris said as he walked back towards the two older teens. He looked at D.J. who shrugged. "Here found us some food."

Chris sat beside Wyatt and handed him a deli sandwich. He also passed one to D.J. and kept one for himself. "Did you find someplace to hide? Or were you too busy telling Wyatt what a pain in the ass I am?"

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**Author's Note**: I didn't say a whole lot at the top, so maybe I was just saving my ramble for now. Then again, I don't feel like rambling much at the moment.

"_Han är singel, vet du."_ - "He's single, you know."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: Throw confetti, celebrate, get excited---er---oh, wait… cancel that, send the balloons back. Darn. _strikermac_ and I don't own Charmed or Chris and Wyatt, we're just writing this bit of fan fiction for fun and entertainment purposes.

**Author's Note**: I can think of quite a few people who are going to want to hunt us down for the horrible cliffhanger that _strikermac_ and I left "Marketplace of Souls" at. I know, I know… it was really mean. But you can blame all the lurkers who just read without reviewing for that!

So if you aren't reviewing… tsk tsk! Shame on you! You should support your authors and give them encouragement to continue bringing you quick updates on these stories! Otherwise, we might go on strike and just keep the updates to ourselves until we _do_ get more reviews. That's right… review this chapter! Inspire us to keep writing! Give our Muse (Melody) praise and cookies! This is one of the longest chapters yet. :) It deserves nice long reviews, don't you think?

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D.J. Anderson crinkled the wrapping from his sandwich and looked around, he was still hungry. The sandwich had been good, but he wanted something else. He could have eaten an entire large pizza by himself. He could go for a hamburger, heck even a hot dog would do at this moment. All the sandwich had done was let him now how hungry he really was.

The half-manticore arched his balled up wrapper towards the trashcan, basketball style. It bounced off the side and landed on the sidewalk.

"He shoots, he misses," Chris said with a smile.

D.J. stuck his tongue out at the younger boy and climbed to his feet to pick up his trash and dispose of it properly.

"I'm still hungry." Wyatt said as he tossed his wrapper into a garbage can from where he was still seated. His of course dropped into the opening on the first try, leaving D.J. to roll his eyes.

"I'm running out of money on my end Wy." Chris said as he got up and put his wrapper in the can as well. He didn't bother trying to score a basket. Let Wyatt have his little moment of glory, and spare D.J. from having it rubbed in his face that he had missed.

Wyatt looked between the two younger teens and his jaw dropped, "You've spent almost a hundred dollars?"

D.J. held his hands up and said, "Hey, like I told your brother. Next time we come to a foreign country, I'm going to nap and leave him to find a hiding place while you try to kill us."

"I feel guilty enough D.J." Wyatt looked at Chris counting the cash in his hand. He didn't know how much guilt one person was supposed to handle. "I really am sorry I tried to kill you Chris."

Chris let out an exasperated sigh and looked up from counting his money and fixed Wyatt with jade stare, "Wyatt, for the hundredth time, it was not your fault. You were under a spell. You'd never hurt me on purpose, I know that."

"Spell or not, I've been trying to kill you two for the last fourteen hours since the concert," Wyatt said.

"Maybe that'll teach you not to make out with girls you hardly know," D.J. mumbled under his breath. He cut his eyes to Wyatt, but the blonde didn't seem to have heard him, as he was looking guiltily towards Chris.

"I'm really sorry," the blonde said.

"One-hundred and one times: quit apologizing," Chris muttered as he sighed. He'd finished counting out the money, "Fifteen seventy-four."

"Here, just get us something more to eat. My stomach is still growling." Wyatt dug into his pocket and handed Chris the rest of his money. Chris walked off. Still limping slightly.

"Damn it, I wish he'd just be angry at me. That damn noble thing he has going just frustrates me." Wyatt kicked the wall and sighed, hanging his head.

"You didn't mean it Wy. Don't beat yourself up," D.J. said, "You know as well as I do that when you do something that deserves it, Chris can yell with the best of them."

"It _was_ my fault," Wyatt mumbled, "And I _do_ deserve him to yell at me. I tried to kill him!"

"Well, maybe Chris will buy you some Listerine mouthwash too, while he's getting us more food" D.J. quipped, "Then you can still feel guilty about the fact that you made out with a Swedish demon for two hours, she mind swiped you, and then she made you try to kill us… but at least you'll have 'Rinsed Your Way to a Healthier Mouth'."

Wyatt folded his arms over his chest and frowned at his best friend. He hated to admit it, but D.J. had managed to side track his guilt for just a few moments, "I should apologize for forcing Chris to have to put up with you too. How can you memorize movies, television and old advertising slogans, but you're barely passing U.S. Government?"

"If it's not entertainment, I don't care?" D.J. said with a shrug, "I'm not going to be running for President, Wy. I don't really see the relevance of having to learn politics. You can't tell me that watching a movie isn't a thousand times better than listening to Mr. Hahn lecture on what a 'filibuster' is and why it's an important part of our governmental process. I'm getting an 'A' in Drama IV, that's got to make up for something."

Wyatt shook his head, looking down the street towards where Chris had entered into a shop to get them something else to eat. Wyatt started walking that way, not really liking that his brother was out of his sight again, D.J. trotted along behind him.

"I don't understand what the order has to do with anything," Wyatt mumbled, completely changing the subject from D.J.'s lack of interest in academics.

D.J. didn't quite follow the switch, "Uh… it's pretty simple actually. First you take Drama I, which is an introduction to it. Then you take Drama II, which goes a bit more in depth int--"

Wyatt turned and looked at him, "Demons D.J. Try to stay with me. I don't understand why it matters to them that Chris dies first. They had me there with them all that time and they could have killed me… but they didn't… it just doesn't make any sense."

"They're demons Wyatt," D.J. said, "Do they have to make sense?"

Wyatt shook his head, but he smiled and gave D.J. a light shove on the shoulder as they waited outside the store for Chris, "Well, you never do."

D.J. shoved him back, "Ass."

"Seriously though," Wyatt said, frowning again, "Why would it matter?"

"Why would what matter?" Chris asked, stepping back out of the deli. He handed the bag of food off to D.J. and looked at his brother. D.J. rummaged through the bag, pulling himself out a bag of chips and another sandwich before he passed it off to Wyatt.

"Nothing," Wyatt shook his head, "Just trying to figure out what the demons are planning is all. Let's get moving. We've stayed in one place to long. Are you good to go?"

"So long as we walk and don't run," Chris said, "I'm shiny."

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Chris looked around the empty building as the three of them stepped inside. Chris closed the door behind him and followed the other two into one of the offices. Chris shut that door as well. He hated breaking and entering, but this was an emergency. Even with Wyatt's smirking remark that they hadn't actually _broken_ anything, it still was what it was. But it was a place they could take shelter and get a little bit of rest. No one should be here until tomorrow morning and by then they would be home, he hoped.

Wyatt and D.J. slumped onto the floor of the small office. The blonde pulled his jacket off and balled it up into a pillow, resting his head on it. Wyatt closed his eyes, already drifting off in exhaustion. D.J. curled up on the floor as well, while Chris sat down.

"All of us can't go to sleep," Chris said, "Someone has to stay awake and be a look out in case the demons show up. You slept last time Dee, my turn. Wake me in an hour and I'll relieve you."

Chris stretched out on the carpeted floor next to his brother and folded his arms under his head. He was beyond exhausted and was out almost immediately after he had closed his eyes.

"One hour got it." D.J. sat up, scooting himself backwards so that he could lean against the desk. He looked at his watch and yawned. His eyes felt so grainy… he'd just close them for a second…

Chris woke with a start as he heard a noise. He scrubbed his hand over his eyes and rolled so that he could look around. He looked over and both D.J. and Wyatt were sound asleep, Wyatt was just barely snoring. There was the sound again. Like someone trying to be way too quiet and failing at it. Chris swallowed hard. He crawled over and shook Wyatt covering his mouth.

Wyatt's eyes flew open as he felt the hand over his mouth and looked to see his little brother. Between their connection he knew exactly what Chris was worried about. Wyatt nodded and Chris slipped his hand from Wyatt mouth so that he could crawl towards D.J. Meanwhile, Wyatt pushed himself up and quietly slid his arms back into his jacket. Chris covered D.J.'s mouth and D.J. predictably started panicking. Chris glared at him until he calmed, then slowly slid his hand from the older boy's mouth.

"What?" D.J. whispered.

"We're trapped." Chris whispered as he watched Wyatt go to the side window. Wyatt shook his head and Chris looked around and saw the vent and smiled. "Or not."

Chris got up to his feet, with D.J. watching him. Wyatt looked over his shoulder as Chris whispered, "Wy give me a boost."

In the next minute, with Wyatt's help, Chris managed to loosen the screws holding the screen onto the vent and crawled in. Wyatt lifted D.J. into the vent and then pulled himself up with Chris' help. The space was cramped, but it was an escape route and the only option they had. It was a good thing that none of them were claustrophobic. The three of them crawled through the ventilation shaft until it widened just enough for Wyatt to squeeze past and get out in front of the other two. He had the firepower, if there were demons waiting on the other end, he would hopefully be able to blast them.

The ventilation shaft ended up in a little storage room. As far as Wyatt could see there weren't any demons inside. Wyatt kicked out the screen, wincing as it made a soft clatter on the concrete floor of the storage room. He climbed out and crossed quickly towards the door while D.J. and Chris slid into the room. Wyatt took a deep breath and looked out the door.

"Let's go," he said, closing the door back and hurrying over to the window.

"I'm going to die," D.J. whimpered as he looked out the door to see the demons at the end of the hall. They hadn't heard the noise of the grate, but they were methodically checking each of the office building's room. D.J. whimpered again and followed Wyatt to the window.

"Shut up already. I've heard it all before." Chris growled as he climbed out the window and landed in the alley below. He sucked in a sharp breath from the impact of the landing, but shook it off as he looked up at the window to see D.J. exit, then Wyatt.

"Will you two stop," Wyatt hissed. He looked around and saw a group of demons on the main street. He pushed the two younger teens toward the other end of the alley and they started running when they got onto the cross street that ran behind the building.

"Next time, _you_ get to spend the weekend listening to D.J. tell you he's going to die," Chris said to Wyatt as the three of them took off running together.

They had been running about fifteen minutes when Chris looked over his shoulder and groaned as he felt the shooting pains in his leg.

"Gotta stop," the younger teen groaned. Chris limped over to a bench and sat down, stretching his leg out in front of him. Wyatt looked over at his brother then scanned the area for demons.

"I'm with Chris, I can't keep running from alley to alley." D.J. sat beside Chris. "How did they find us?"

"I have no idea. But we were there a good three hours. You fell asleep before waking me," Chris said as he rubbed his leg. He wasn't trying to make it sound like an accusation; it was more of an observation of the fact that all three of them had fallen asleep. Chris sighed, and then looked at Wyatt. His brother was on full alert.

"Sue me, I'm dying," D.J. grumbled.

"We can't stay here," Wyatt said. He looked at Chris and D.J. "We have to keep moving."

"Easy for you to say T.B. We've taken the running tour of Stockholm while you were riding in a nice car. We're exhausted," D.J. said.

"My leg isn't going to hold out much longer. We need to take a stand and fight Wy."

"No!!" Wyatt snapped in a rather authoritative voice, "In a couple hours our powers will be up and we can leave. Until then we just stay away from them."

"What part of _I can't run anymore_ are you missing Wyatt? As it is my physical therapist is going to wonder what I did to my leg to cause the damage I've done to it this weekend," the younger teen said, lifting his head to look at Wyatt.

"Just can't keep running Wy. We've been doing it since we left the concert. We're just exhausted." D.J. looked at his best friend. Wyatt was angry.

"I'm in charge. We stay away from them!! I won't let them have another shot at Chris," the older boy said adamantly.

"All the more reason to stand and fight," Chris said stubbornly.

"We're going to keep going," Wyatt said with a note of finality, "And live to fight another day." Wyatt walked away, though it was more like stalking at this point. His point had been made and he wasn't going to be swayed from it. He was the one that was in charge here.

Chris looked at D.J. and then with a heavy sigh, he got up to follow his brother. Chris winced and limped after Wyatt.

"Stubborn. Why do you Halliwell's have to be so stubborn?" D.J. groaned as he raked his hands through his hair and trotted after the two brothers.

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"WHAT?!" Rebecka screeched as she rounded on the tall black man that had been guarding the alley. He wasn't really a man at all, but a human-looking demon such as herself. Several of the others backed up as the demoness rounded her fury filled blue eyes on them. They flashed a fiery red for a moment before fading back to sapphire. "Incompetence. Absolute incompetence and I refuse to tolerate it. I don't care if I did say to check each room one by one… if you _heard a noise_ in one of the rooms you should have gone to check it out!"

She pointed her finger at two of the demons that had been inside searching the rooms. "Because of you they got away. _Again_. We only have _five hours_. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," they said in unison, dipping their heads forward and shrinking back from her wrath.

"Find them!" She snapped at the black man, who moved to get in the driver's seat of the car. Rebecka turned towards the two sniveling ingrates and ground her teeth together, "As for you…" She swept her hand upwards causing one of the pair to explode into tiny particles. The other flinched and jumped back. Rebecka narrowed her eyes at him, "Do not let me down again. This ends _today_."

"Of course," the demon said, rushing towards the car to open the door for her.

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D.J. dropped to the floor with a thud. He was breathing heavily but was muttering something in between the gasping.

"Gon- gon - gonna ki-ll you Wyatt Halli- well." D.J. said as he crawled to the wall and leaned against it.

Chris smiled even as he too was gasping for breath. Wyatt had 'taken charge', and at this point, Chris wished he would turn over the reins. Wyatt hadn't even looked at the map. He was running blind.

"We need to take a look at the map," Chris said.

"What we need, is to rest while we can," Wyatt said, walking around the room as though he were securing their perimeter. "Then get out before they find us again," the older boy finished.

They had taken shelter in another vacant office building; the sign that had said 'closed for renovations' in Swedish had been what caught Chris's eye. He was really getting the hang of the ability to tap into that part of his whitelighter heritage. Too bad he wouldn't be able to tell his father the full story behind how he had done that without being grounded for the rest of his life. Chris stood by the wall, watching Wyatt.

"I'm gonna die in Sweden..." D.J. moaned out. He dipped his head forward, "Ah heck, better than my dad killing me." With that D.J. closed his eyes.

"There's the spirit." Chris pulled out the map and looked at it as he slid down the wall and leaned his head against the cool surface. "Anything we haven't seen? Well we certainly have seen a lot of the city. Maybe we can come back and play tour guide to earn a little money for college," Chris said as he tried to figure out where they were. He ground his teeth together as he stretched his leg out in front of him.

"I'm sorry Chris, you're in a lot of pain," Wyatt said, turning to look down at him.

"I'll live," Chris said, pointedly ignoring the concerned look as he ran his finger along the map, trying to figure out where they were now. All those impulsive and completely random turns Wyatt had taken them on as they ran were really making it difficult for Chris to determine where they were at in the city.

"Maybe They'll let me heal you now. I mean the damage was caused because of magic," the older boy said, squatting in front of Chris. The map the younger boy was holding up was blocking his view of him.

"I'll be fine Wyatt," Chris said, lowering the map so he could look at him. Wyatt had gone from being a commanding leader to being overly concerned that he was pushing him too hard. As much as they both irritated Chris, he preferred Wyatt taking charge to being so obnoxiously sympathetic. Chris shook the map straight again and went back to looking at it, breaking the line of sight with his brother, "Think I'm going to get mom to let me stay home on Monday though."

"Good luck on that one little brother," Wyatt said, getting back up and crossing to the window again.

"I'll throw myself down the stairs or something. I'm going to sleep for as long as possible," Chris said, folding the map and shifting so he could jam it into his pocket again.

"Can't do that now. D.J.!!!" Wyatt said as he looked out the window. "We're IT again boys, let's go."

Wyatt pulled D.J. up by his arm. Poor D.J. still struggled to stay on his feet as they reached the door.

"Go!" Wyatt shouted.

Chris sprinted across the grass as they left the building, with D.J. right behind him. Wyatt hung back and blasted the first demon through the door and then took off across the grass. He caught up with the other two pretty quickly when he saw Rebecka with a Darklighter's crossbow.

The arrow was pointed right at Chris back. The blonde demoness squeezed the trigger, releasing it from its quiver. Wyatt reacted instinctively and threw himself in front of Chris. He yelped when the arrow tore through his flesh and staggered forwards, his knees attempting to buckle.

"Wy!!" Chris turned and grabbed his brother by the arm to keep him running. D.J. slowed and turned back, green eyes as big as saucers behind his glasses.

"Keep running!!!" Chris yelled at D.J. as he helped Wyatt around the corner.

As they rounded it, Wyatt gave Chris a tight smile and gained his footing back somewhat. They had to run, the demons were right behind them. Wyatt cut his eyes downwards to see the glimpse of the arrow's point sticking out of the front of his left shoulder. They couldn't stop though.

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The three teenagers sprinted away, dodging into an alley. It still felt to D.J. like all he had seen of Stockholm was its alleyways as they jogged. They had barely managed to lose the demons this time and they were no doubt closing in on them now. Wyatt, who should have been the fastest of the three, was the last to get into the alley, supported by his little brother. As the two of them rounded the corner the blonde staggered before he dropped forward to his knees. His palms thrust out to catch himself and almost didn't manage to keep him from completely dropping forwards. Sweat was beading across Wyatt's forehead.

Chris turned behind him to look at Wyatt and eyed the arrow sticking through his brother's shoulder with a sinking dread. The flight of panic that gripped him as he dropped down in front of Wyatt constricted his chest. Wyatt was trying to muffle the link between them as best he could, but it was a miserable attempt, Chris knew the agony that his older brother was feeling. Even if not for their empathic bond, he had experienced it enough to know. It was funny actually. No matter how many times Chris had been shot with a Darklighter's arrow, he would have preferred that arrow to be sticking through his own shoulder instead of his brother's.

"D.J. pull it out., I can't touch it. Pull it out," Chris said. He could hear the panic in his own voice. He knew that he needed to relax, but he was finding it difficult to do that just now. Wyatt's face had a gray complexion to it.

"Alright. Step back," D.J. said as he knelt down next to Wyatt too, "I don't want to accidentally stab you."

Chris slid back out of the way and watched, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. D.J. gripped the shaft of the arrow just behind its head and nervously pulled it through Wyatt's shoulder. He had done this a hundred times, but most of the time it was to pull an arrow out of the younger Halliwell. Wyatt screamed in pain as the arrow was jerked through the rest of the way and he toppled forwards.

"I'm sorry!" D.J. said, throwing the arrow as far away from the two half-whitelighters as he could chuck it.

Chris caught Wyatt as he collapsed and cradled his brother's head in his lap. He brushed Wyatt's sweaty blonde hair away from his chalky face. Wyatt squeezed his eyes shut, panting in pained breaths through gritted teeth.

"I can't heal…" Chris whispered in a shaking voice.

"It's okay Chris," Wyatt said with a wince as he opened his eyes to look up at his brother.

"Why the hell did you do that? Why did you _do_ that?!" Chris demanded, emotion made his voice crack and tears were already making his green eyes look blue. This was his worst nightmare. Wyatt's face contorted in pain again as the poison from the arrow coursed through his veins. "Let _me_ take the damn arrow Wyatt! I can't heal you!!!"

Wyatt closed his eyes again, his face ashen. Chris moistened his lips and held his hands over Wyatt's shoulder, but nothing happened. There wasn't any saving golden glow. Fear clawed at Chris as his hands trembled, "Don't die Wy. You can't die…"

"You have to go, they're going to catch up to us," Wyatt groaned out.

"Not without you," Chris whispered fiercely. He had tears in his eyes and he brushed his brother's sweaty blonde curls away from his forehead. The brunette lifted his eyes to the sky and cursed the Elders for not allowing him to heal Wyatt, for not letting him have that power yet. He looked towards D.J. who was sitting next to Wyatt and was also on the verge of tears. Chris ground his teeth together and breathed out in choked frustration, "What kind of Whitelighter am I if I can't heal?"

"It's okay… Chris. You'll grow into it," Wyatt said quietly. His voice was weaker and his breathing was becoming progressively more ragged with each breath. He gave Chris a very small and unconvincing smile, "Just… just be a… great witch… right now…" Another ripple of pain caused Wyatt to groan in agony and Chris winced as he felt it through their link in spite of all Wyatt was doing to try to suppress it. "…you… you've… got to go… they… they're coming…" Wyatt uttered weakly, as he drifted into unconsciousness.

"I'm not leaving you Wy," Chris whispered, "Wy? Wyatt?"

The tears were trailing steadily down D.J.'s cheeks now as he drew his knees up to his chest and watched the two brothers, his two best friends. He just had to sit here and watch his best friend die… D.J.'s breath hitched in his throat.

"…Wyatt?" Chris asked again, his voice broke as he shook his brother. _No, no, no, no…_ this wasn't happening. It wasn't happening. "WY! Open your eyes Wy… Oh, God, please… Wyatt, don't leave me…"

D.J. covered his mouth with a shaking hand and lowered his eyes away from the scene as tears trailed down his cheeks.

"I can't… I can't do this… with… without you… Wy, wake up. Wy. Wyatt? I can't be a great witch without you," Chris trembled, and then the brunette smiled suddenly, "A great witch? That's it." He looked down at his ashen-faced brother, who was barely breathing now and closed his eyes. He had to think it through in his head, but he wasn't going to let his brother down.

_"I call upon an ancient power,_  
_To help me in my darkest hour._  
_Help me do what must be done,_  
_To heal this ailing Halliwell._  
_Let me find what's hidden inside,_  
_To heal his wound please provide,_  
_Release my powers, so he won't die,_  
_Let me save my_ _brother Wy."_

Chris opened his eyes and held his hand over Wyatt's bloody wound. He waited as several tense seconds ticked by. Suddenly golden lights shined over him and then shot into his hands. D.J. lifted his eyes and stared on in shock as Wyatt's wound knitted together and he was healed.

"You did it!!!" D.J. looked at Chris with a stunned expression.

Wyatt coughed, gasping as he woke. He looked up at his little brother and smiled.

"Cleverest witch in the family in generations is what Grams said… she… she sends her love by the way," Wyatt said in a miserable attempt at humor as he slowly sat up.

"So not funny Wyatt," Chris said, still more than a little disturbed by Wyatt's near death. He bent forwards and wrapped his arms around Wyatt's neck, hugging him, "This is me: not laughing."

Wyatt hugged him back. He was still feeling weak, but he rolled his shoulder and smiled at Chris as he sat up. "Thanks little brother."

Chris Halliwell wiped the tears from his cheeks and smiled weakly. "Just really happy it worked. It was the only plan I had. I'm glad you're okay."

"Well good thing for me you're good with a spell now isn't it?" Wyatt got up and looked at D.J. who was still all puffy-faced and wiping tears away. Wyatt smiled at him, "What? You think Chris would let me die?"

"No, just thinking how stupid you are," D.J. said defensively as he got up, "You could have been killed T.B."

"Better me than Chris," Wyatt said.

"Wrong Wy, you're the prophesied one. If I die, so what? If you die, there goes the prophecy," Chris said, pushing himself to his feet as well.

"My little brother dies and I'm done."

"I don't matter Wyatt."

"You're wrong Chris. You matter." Wyatt sighed wearily. _You matter_ _to me, damn it. _Wyatt looked into his brother's jade eyes, his blue ones searing with anger over the notion that his brother thought he didn't matter.

"We should go," Chris said, breaking their stare. He started off out of the alley, "They're going to catch up to us."

"This isn't over little brother." Wyatt jogged behind the other two. Yes, this conversation wasn't over by a long shot.

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**Author's Note**: The countdown to the end approaches… there's still more left to come, but things for this story are going to begin winding down to a conclusion soon. Never fear! That just means that once this one is wrapped up _strikermac_ and I will begin work on the next Pre-Destined story: "Eyes of Light". Don't forget that you've also got the Destined series to read and enjoy. They _are_ in story format (NOT screenplay format) so if you're interested in reading what we envision a spin-off about the Halliwell brothers like, you can read those. This story and the other Pre-Destined stories are prequels to the Destined series. Just as a final reminder: click the button at the bottom and write a review!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: Throw confetti, celebrate, get excited---er---oh, wait… cancel that, send the balloons back. Darn. _strikermac_ and I don't own Charmed or Chris and Wyatt, we're just writing this bit of fan fiction for fun and entertainment purposes.

**Author's Note**: Still not enough reviews on "Marketplace of Souls" to make us happy enough to post again to that story... so, you get another update on this one and are left contemplating the cliffhanger for the other. Blame your fellow readers for not giving us proper inspiration and encouragement. Aye, we want you to review _this_ story… goodness it's reached over 100 reviews!... but our other stories are feeling a tad neglected in the review department. Many thanks to the folks who _have_ reviewed. Your support is greatly appreciated.

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The telephone ringing woke Victor Bennet from a sound sleep. The gray-haired man gave a jerk and sat upright, scrubbing his hand over his face as the offending noise that had woken him persisted. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he grumbled softly as he swung his legs over the side of the couch. The sun was up at least, sending warm cheery rays in through the windows. Victor looked at his watch and groaned. It was only nine o'clock in the morning. Moving sluggishly, Victor made his way over to the phone.

"Hello?" he asked, sleep still clinging to his vocal chords.

A man's voice on the other end asked, "Is Piper there?"

"No, she's in New York for the weekend, who is asking?" Victor asked, clearing his throat as coherency of thought began to return to him.

"Uh, this is Derek Anderson. My son D.J. is friends with Wyatt."

"Oh, the half-demon kid," Victor said. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, "This is Wyatt's grandfather. What can I do for you?"

"I tried to call a couple of times before now, left a few messages. Ah, D.J. never came home last night. Usually when that is the case he is off with Wyatt and Chris. I just wanted to know if he was there," the man said in a worried tone of voice.

"The boys are grounded. Well at least they are supposed to be." Victor started up the stairs, keeping the phone pressed against his ear. "He was here yesterday morning. But last time I saw the boys they were asleep." Victor opened Chris' door and his grandson was indeed sound asleep. He closed the door and walked down the hall, opening the door and his eldest grandson snored, hanging half way out of the bed. Victor smiled, "No, Wyatt and Chris are here and still asleep. If D.J. does show up, you'll be my first call."

"Thanks. I hate when he does this," Derek sighed wearily. "Last time he did this, I had this vision of him lying dead in the underworld and do you know where he was?" Victor shook his head and got ready to answer, but Derek just kept going. "He went to a Shirley Temple film festival. Shirley Temple for the love of heaven."

Victor laughed heartily, feeling sorry for the other man, "I've heard he's a fan of movies."

"Movies, television, commercials… anything that happens on a screen. The boy is going to send me to an early grave," Derek said.

"I promise you're my first call if he shows up here."

"Thanks. Victor isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Wyatt and Chris talk about you all the time when they're here," the younger man said.

"Really? Good things I hope," Victor said.

Victor could hear a hint of a smile in the other man's voice, "Only good things. I expect when I meet you to see a golden light glowing from you. You'd think you were a God."

"Really?" Victor smiled. His grandsons loved him. Yes, he'd been a lousy father, but he was obviously a great grandfather. "Thank you. I always wonder how I'm doing in that department. Sorry about D.J., hope he comes home soon."

"Me too. Nice talking to you Victor."

"Just wish it were under better circumstances," Victor told him.

"Me too." Derek hung up and Victor walked downstairs. He was feeling pretty good right now, beaming from the praise his grandsons must have spoken of him. He was awake now. Maybe he'd run to the store and do a little shopping. He could make brunch for the boys. Victor had just reached the bottom of the stairs when the phone rang again.

"Hello?" Victor asked after hitting the button and holding the cordless up to his ear again.

"Dad. How's it going?" the voice of his eldest daughter greeted him.

"Piper. Honey all is going quite well, except Wyatt's friend D.J. is missing," he told her, pausing on the stairs.

"Missing?"

"Didn't come home last night. His Dad called," Victor said, "I checked with the boys, they're both in their rooms sleeping."

"Chris is sleeping?" Piper asked, sounding a mixture of surprised and relieved, "That's good. I was really worried he'd have more nightmares while we were away."

"No, not that I know of. He didn't come see me about them."

"He wouldn't," Piper said a bit dejectedly, "The only person that can get him to talk about them or really calm him down afterwards is Wyatt. Well, let him sleep as long as possible. If he wants to sleep, I'm encouraging it. Last week he barely got a full eight hours in the whole week. I don't think Wyatt's birthday helped matters. I still can't believe Paige did that…"

"He's sleeping soundly," Victor interjected, steering the mother away from a worried tirade about her youngest son.

Piper sighed, then asked, "How's Wyatt?"

"Sleeping as well," Victor answered, "Does he always sleep half off of his bed?"

"Yes. I've gotten to the point that I just leave him be. He just ends up in the same position," Piper replied. She smiled as she thought of her boys sleeping in on a Sunday morning. It reminded her a lot of when they were little. Then she had blinked and now they were nearly adults. "Other than that? Has it been quiet?"

"Yes, demon-free."

"That is thanks to the cosmos, or so my sister and husband have just recently informed me," Piper said, "All magical transportation is down for the next five hours or so."

"You don't think that D.J. kid is stranded somewhere do you?" Victor asked as he sat down on the stairs.

"Oh my," Piper thought aloud, "That is quite possible. But I don't know why Wyatt wouldn't have told D.J. about the magical transportation being down. Or Chris."

"I'll call his father and let him know."

"No Dad, I'll do it," Piper said, "Thanks for looking after the boys. Next weekend, I'll send them to your place and the three of you can have the weekend I know you wanted to have this weekend."

"I'm looking forward to it. Love you honey," Victor smiled happily as he hung up the phone. Next weekend he and the boys were going to have some fun. Maybe the three of them could orb someplace, go on a nice weekend vacation. His company had a nice apartment in Stockholm. He doubted the boys had ever been to Stockholm.

Victor continued to smile as he stood up and finished descending the staircase. What a surprise it would be for them to spend an entire weekend in a foreign country and exploring the city. Maybe he'd even invite D.J. if the poor kid wasn't grounded for not coming home. He really needed to meet his grandson's little friend. Victor grabbed his jacket and left the manor not knowing what trouble his grandsons were really in.

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It was starting to get dark again. Wyatt turned and glared at his best friend who had been letting out a continuous litany of panicked phrases since they had started running again. If Wyatt heard one more time how the three of them were going to die in Sweden, he was going to blast him. Sure, D.J. wasn't having the best day. But neither was Wyatt. Heck, he had kissed a demon and then had tried to kill his little brother.

Looking over at the aforementioned little brother Wyatt sighed. Chris hadn't said more than three words since he had used a spell to heal him. Now he was limping along beside D.J. wincing occasionally as they walked along the streets. Even through the empathic link the brothers shared, Wyatt couldn't get much beyond pain and worry.

_I don't matter_. Chris said he didn't matter. What did that mean? Of _course_ he mattered. He mattered to a whole lot of people. Hell, that football injury proved that. By the time he'd left the hospital, more than half the school had come to see him. The rest waited and paraded in and out of the manor for weeks.

That damn prophecy. There were days that Wyatt Halliwell wished that he wasn't the twice-blessed witch. He would rather not have the entire magical community resting its entire future on his shoulders. It was a big legacy to live up to. And if that weren't enough already to deal with, he had that damn sword on top of it. How did he convince Chris that he mattered?

Chris Halliwell did what he always did when everything became too much to deal with. He escaped inside himself. He had to figure out how to get them home soon. Wyatt could have died. If he hadn't thought about calling powers to him his brother could have died and the entire magical community would have suffered. And that would have been his fault. Wyatt Halliwell could not die. He was the twice-blessed witch that magic itself had stopped for. What would happen if he died? Would magic itself stop for good? No, Chris rationalized, magic would always go on. But Chris Halliwell would stop. It would be like taking away his heart to lose his brother.

D.J. chewed on his lower lip. He'd been quiet for half a block now and it was killing him. Neither of the brothers were saying a word and hadn't said a word in a while. They were going to make him have a heart attack. He was worried and scared and, well, his best friend had almost died. D.J. was a nervous talker. He'd always been a nervous talker and he probably always would be, "We really need to find a good place to hide. You almost died T.B. That was way too close. We need to hide. We need to hide or we are all going to die."

"D.J. I love you, but if you don't shut up, I'm going to tie your tongue in a knot!!" Wyatt snapped, causing the half-manticore to pale. D.J. ducked his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, pouting.

Why did the order matter? Why did Chris have to die first? Wyatt just wasn't seeing the reasoning behind it. The Halliwell brothers had to die, Chris had to die first, then Wyatt? Why? Wyatt looked around and sat on a curb. Why did the damn order matter?

"Wy, we can't stop," Chris said quietly.

"Need to think," Wyatt said, crossing his arms on top of his knees.

"About?" Chris asked, walking over to stand just beside his brother. D.J. hung back just a bit, chewing on his lower lip and avoiding eye contact. Chris looked at his older brother, "Tell me."

Wyatt sighed and wearily raked his hands through his blonde hair. He could have told Chris it was nothing, but the lie would have shown through. Besides that, Chris had a right to know and maybe he would think of something that Wyatt hadn't. At least it might get Chris to talk to him again instead of bottling everything up like an introvert. Wyatt just told them what was on his mind, "Rebecka said you have to die first, then me. Why does the order matter? I don't understand. Why does it matter?"

"We could ask them," D.J. stated with a bit of jest in his tone.

"Funny." Wyatt gritted his teeth, obviously not seeing any humor in it at all.

Chris sat down beside his brother, "Maybe they just don't want to kill you. They want to destroy you."

Wyatt sniffed thoughtfully, "Tried to have me kill you. Yes, that would have destroyed me." Guilt about it still ate at the blonde witch. He looked at his hands and sighed softly. The fact that the demons wanted to kill Chris first wasn't the only thing that was bothering him.

"We can't worry about it," Chris said in a soft-spoken voice, "We either stand and fight, or keep hiding. At this point, I'd rather find a place to battle it out. But if you'd rather just hide, we need to do that."

"You're blocking me," Wyatt said, turning his blue eyes towards his younger sibling.

"Let's go," Chris said, getting up. Wyatt grabbed his wrist to stop him and received a jade glare from the younger Halliwell.

"You matter."

Chris shrugged his shoulders and pulled away. He started walking slowly down the street. Wyatt let out a long weary sigh as he watched the brunette's retreating back and climbed to his feet too. Sharing a somber look with D.J. the pair of them followed after Chris. It was getting dark again. That meant that the demons were going to be coming out in full force once more.

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Derek Anderson paced back and forth across his living room waiting for his seventeen-year-old son to come home. He looked at his watch again and ran his fingers through his hair. He was going to go prematurely gray. No, he was going to be sent to an early grave, like he had told Victor over the phone. The last conversation he'd had with D.J. kept running through his head and he couldn't help but worry that it would be their last. The phone rang and Derek lunged at it.

"D.J.?" the man asked, with hope-filled concert.

"Sorry Derek, it's just me," a woman's voice sounded, "My father told me about D.J."

"Piper, I'm worried sick. Where could he be? Sure the three of them are irresponsible sometimes, but…" Derek trailed off and rubbed a hand through his short dark hair again.

"I just learned last night that all magical transportation is down. Maybe he's stranded somewhere," Piper said in a voice she hoped came off and gentle and comforting.

Derek blinked, "So he can't shimmer?"

"Yes, and the boys can't orb," Piper told him, "Has to do with some sort of obscure planetary alignment."

"I didn't know…" the man said softly.

"Me neither until last night. Supposedly Wyatt and Chris went to a lecture on it at Magic School last week. No one ever bothers telling me though," Piper grumbled irritably.

Derek sat down on the edge of his sofa, switching the phone to his other ear, "Why didn't they tell him?"

"Good question, but maybe they did and he thought he was going to have time to shimmer back before it went offline," Piper said. She was trying her hardest to make the worried father a little more at ease. She could imagine the stress and anxiety he was going through all too well thanks to her own teenaged sons.

"Why doesn't he call me?" Derek asked, worried.

"Derek, you know as well as I do once he starts watching movies it's all over," Piper said with a smile. She couldn't help smiling thinking of D.J.'s love for old movies. Anyone who didn't know that the boy was half-manticore would have been surprised to find it out. Had she not been a part of his infant rescue and reunion with his father she would never have believed it herself.

Derek sighed wearily, "I hope you're right."

"Me too," Piper comforted, "Leo said that transportation goes back on line in another five hours or so. I'm sure he'll be home shortly after that."

"Thanks Piper. I just always have this image…"

"Of the three of them lying dead in the underworld?" Piper didn't need to ask. She rubbed her temple trying to drive the horrible thought from her head. "Yes, I've had the same image a hundred times. Especially after that little Hide-and-Go-Seek fiasco."

"Don't remind me. Still having heart palpitations about that. Taiwan," Derek mumbled. He rubbed his eyes and drew a deep breath to calm himself, "Have a safe flight back."

"Thanks," Piper said, then added, "Call me when he comes home."

"I will," the other parent said, "Thanks for calling."

Derek hung up the phone and walked into his kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He checked the clock on the kitchen wall, it was a minute faster than his watch. Five hours. His son had better be home in five hours with a very good explanation for why he didn't call.

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"Damn those half-breeds," Rebecka snarled. The older one had jumped in front of the younger to protect him. She'd had the boy in her sights and she had failed to kill him.

"I thought the younger one couldn't heal?" the driver questioned.

"He can't," she said, "but somehow he did." They had gotten to the alley to see the arrow tossed to the side and a bloody mark in the pavement, but no sign of any of the teenagers. Which had led to only one conclusion. Somehow the younger witch had healed his brother. It had only led to her greater understanding of the necessity of killing the little brats. The good news was that she hadn't violated the order that had been handed to her by killing Wyatt first, the bad news was that Chris was also still alive and running through the city.

Rebecka scowled as she rode in the back of the Mercedes and she leaned towards the front seat, "You understand that we are running out of time, yes?"

Silence came from the two 'men' in the front of the vehicle. It was far less crowded now that she had taken it upon herself to vanquish that fool of a Darklighter that had thought to challenge her and one of the two incompetents that had let the half-breeds escape. Rebecka reached her hand up to grab the man in the passenger seat by the hair. He was the surviving 'incompetent'. "Answer me when I ask you a question!"

"Y-yes," the man stammered, "I understand that we're running out of time."

She twisted her fingers in his hair and sneered to the point that her features no longer were pretty. Her eyes burned red, "We have less than five hours now to find them and kill them. I don't think you understand what the consequences will be if we don't take care of this. Do you understand what those two boys mean to our future? Do you? We have a golden opportunity here and I will not see it squandered. We have been handed a task… _I_ have been handed a task. We are going to find them, do you understand me?"

Rebecka twisted harder, curling her slender fingers through his hair. The driver kept them going, ignoring the whimpers coming from the man seated next to him.

"Y-y-yes," more stammering of response from the underling.

"Contact those in hiding," Rebecca said, releasing her grip on his hair, "the sun is down again. I want no resource wasted in finding the Halliwells."

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**Author's Note: **Bwah hah hah… oh, yes… and we had a plot bunny run away from this story and turn into something that I never expected I would write. I actually wrote a one-shot about Paige's kids. (gasp!) Truthfully it's more about Henry and the fact that the poor man was left to watch them while Paige got stuck in L.A. when magical transport went down. It was too funny not to write. I know this chapter was a bit of a filler, but it was a necessary evil to get to what lies ahead. So… I make one last request of you now that we're at the bottom of the page: Review! Review!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: We don't own Charmed or any of its characters.

**Author's Note**: So many people have been speculating on the importance… I've heard quite a few interesting guesses over the matter. All I can say is that you just have to keep reading to find out! (And of course, as you read, it would be nice if you gave us reviews.) Going to probably need Sarah's Swedish expertise again, my Swedish grammar is horrible…

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D.J. jogged slowly after the Halliwell brothers. Slowly because Chris could no longer keep a fast pace. The youngest of the trio was still uncomfortably silent and Wyatt kept frowning at him to the point that D.J. was sure sooner or later one of them was just going to begin a shouting match. D.J. could see both sides of their argument, which was the problem in being friends with both of them. He more often than not found himself in the middle although being closer to Wyatt, he tended to take the older boy's side more frequently. This time though, he had a pretty good idea of what Chris was thinking about and he sympathized.

Wyatt was his best friend and sometimes D.J. felt like _he_ was in the shadow of the Twice Blessed Witch. Chris probably had that feeling multiplied by at least a thousand being his younger brother. It was a lot to live up to. This was the first time that Chris had just voiced his thoughts about not being important aloud. D.J. was pretty certain that this wasn't the first time he'd had them. The neurotic kid had always had a sort of inferiority complex even though he excelled at things that Wyatt didn't (like potions) - making him a compliment to Wyatt and the pair of them a perfect team. D.J. sometimes wondered though if Chris saw it that way. Chris had also always looked up to Wyatt and Wyatt was always there to protect him whether he wanted protecting or not.

The idea of Wyatt dying had scared D.J. to death. That had been far too close for comfort. He understood completely why Chris was so quiet. The half-manticore chewed on his lower lip. It was another difference between the brothers. When Wyatt had problems he had a tendency to tackle them, talk about them, and not let something go until it was over with. While Chris, for as long as D.J. had known the brothers, tended to want to deal with things on his own terms and internalized until he had figured out how to deal with it on his own. Sometimes D.J. hated being able to see both sides.

"You _are_ important, Chris," Wyatt said, breaking the silence.

"Drop it Wyatt. Just drop it," the younger boy said without looking at him.

D.J. frowned, jamming his hands further into his coat pockets. Wyatt stopped and D.J. nearly ran into Wyatt when the blonde put on the breaks. Wyatt grabbed hold of Chris's arm tightly, forcing the younger teen to stop as well.

"No, I won't drop it Chris," Wyatt said.

Chris tried to wrench his arm from his brother's grip, but Wyatt held onto him. The younger boy's green eyes flashed, but he didn't quite meet Wyatt's sapphire gaze, "Let go of me Wyatt."

"Not until we talk about this! You're blocking me. You've been blocking me since you healed me. This is completely ridiculous Chris. We need to talk about this…"

"No, _you_ need to talk about this," Chris said, jerking his arm free and scowling when Wyatt just grabbed it again. Chris had no desire at all to talk it out.

"Damnit, why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Let go Wyatt…"

"No."

Chris' jaw tightened and he kept his green eyes lowered away from his brother's blue, "Can we please drop it? Now really isn't the time."

"No, I'm not going to drop it!" Wyatt shouted, "Because you'll just keep coming up with reasons why you don't want to talk about it, well we're going to talk about it. Right. Now."

Chris lifted his eyes without quite meeting Wyatt's, "You want to talk about it? You want to talk about the fact that you _almost died?!_"

"I want to talk about why you think you aren't important," Wyatt said.

"Let go of my arm."

D.J. raked his hands through his hair and watched the two brothers glaring at one another. Chris was right, this really wasn't the time for this conversation.

"Talk to me!"

"Wyatt. Let. Go."

"Uh… guys…." D.J. interjected quietly as motion down the street caught his eyes.

"I'm not letting go."

"I'm not talking about this now Wyatt…"

"Yes. You. Are."

"_Guys!_" D.J. repeated a bit more urgently.

"Let go," Chris said, trying to wrench his arm free again.

"GUYS!" D.J. shouted.

"WHAT D.J.?!" Wyatt snapped, turning to look at him. Chris was looking at him too now, but the distraction allowed him to pull his arm from his brother's vice-like grip. D.J. gestured down the street to the trio of demons that had just rounded the corner. They were running towards them, one had formed an energy ball now that the teens had been spotted. Wyatt cursed and grabbed Chris' arm all over again, practically dragging his younger brother behind him as he took off running.

The energy ball slammed into the brick wall where Chris had been standing, leaving a scorch mark. D.J. took off blindly after the brothers. This was bad… this was so very bad…

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Chris and Wyatt Halliwell leaned against the building breathing heavily. Wyatt looked around the corner of the building and sighed. They had lost the demons.

"We lost them," Wyatt said panting.

"Looks like we get some down time. D.J. you and Wyatt can sleep, I'm okay." Chris looked to his side where D.J. should have stood. The only problem was that the older boy wasn't there. "D.J.? D.J.? Wy? Where is D.J.?"

"Looks like the demons aren't the only thing we lost," Wyatt said with a groan.

"We lost D.J.?!" Chris started around the corner to backtrack, but Wyatt grabbed him, pulling him up short. Chris shot a look over his shoulder at his brother.

"What the hell are you doing?" Wyatt asked.

"Going to look for him!"

"He'll catch up to us... he can't be that far behind…"

"He'll... Wyatt! D.J. is out there alone in Stockholm. Your best friend is alone in a foreign country! I told him that I'd get him home safely! You don't know that he wasn't that far behind, there's no telling what happened or when we got separated. We have to go look for him! I have to go look for him!"

"It's not the first time any of us have been alone in a foreign country, but I'm not letting you go out there looking for him alone. He'll be fine."

"Wyatt. This is D.J. we're talking about... and this isn't just being alone in a foreign country. This is being alone in a foreign country with demons on the loose. He's in danger!"

"Chris, those demons are trying to kill you, I'm not letting you run out there by yourself to go look for him. I'm not going to let anything happen to you!"

"I'm going Wyatt," Chris said adamantly, turning to start out of the alley. He wasn't going to be dissuaded. Wyatt caught his shoulder, and spun him around. Chris shook his head, insistent, "I promised him, Wy. I promised him that I would get him home safely. I _promised_ him. I'm not going to let him down."

"I'm coming with you," Wyatt said, "_We'll_ find D.J. I always was better at Hide-and-Seek…"

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_Ten-year-old Wyatt Halliwell was in his room. He was counting to a hundred. That was one of the rules. He had to count to one hundred, and then he could go find D.J. and Chris. ...Seventy-four...seventy-five...seventy-six..._

_"Wyatt, have you seen D.J.? His father is downstairs, it seems he was supposed to be home for a doctor's appointment." Piper looked in and the look on Wyatt's face told her he was in trouble. "Where is he? Did Chris turn him into a toad again?"_

_"No. Uh, we're playing hide and go seek. I have to go find him," the blonde boy said. The wide-eyed expression on his face was much like a deer caught in the headlights._

_"D.J. your dad is here honey, game over." Piper yelled and Wyatt bit his bottom lip stifling a smile._

_"He's not here."_

_"Where is he exactly?" Piper knew by her oldest son's eyes that she was not going to like the answer to this question. "Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, where are Chris and D.J.?"_

_"Some place with a T," the boy answered. Wyatt was now gnawing on his bottom lip._

_"Like behind the TV?" Piper asked suspiciously. Wyatt lowered his eyes to look at the toes of his shoes and Piper knew that the answer that was about to come out of his mouth was not going to be something good. She folded her arms over her chest and waited to hear it. Wyatt swallowed hard and lifted his eyes to his mother. The boy's tongue darted out to moisten his lips._

_"No, like Tibet or Tennessee, Thailand, or Tasmania." Wyatt explained in all seriousness._

_"What!?" Piper's chocolate eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Where is your baby brother?"_

_"I told you," Wyatt said honestly, lowering his eyes away from his mother's stare, "some place that starts with T. I have to go find them now."_

_"Right now you are coming with me downstairs and we will explain this to D.J.'s father." She grabbed Wyatt's arm and dragged him from his room. "Then the two of us will go and find them."_

_"Mom..."_

_"Don't 'Mom' me Wyatt Matthew. You are in so much trouble Buddy."_

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_Chris Halliwell sat on a cliff atop Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. He sighed and picked up another small stone so that he could throw it over the side of the mountain. He was waiting for Wyatt to find him. He blew out a breath and chucked another stone over, watching it hit the side of the mountain below as it created a small cascade of dusty debris._

_Since they had started this game nearly five years ago, Chris had become more creative in his hiding spaces. But at four, he only knew a few limited places. At almost nine, now, he had been studying different locations to find better hiding places. _

_He'd been here a good hour and forty-five minutes. At this point he was just sitting there twiddling his thumbs. Happy that he'd found a great hiding place, but this wasn't exactly some place with a lot to do. Plus, he was getting cold. He picked up another rock and threw it when he saw the blue and white lights to his side. The eight-year-old lifted his eyes and spotted Wyatt and D.J. walking towards him and smiled. He'd won._

_His smile faded when he saw his mother. Piper Halliwell had tears in her eyes. Chris pushed himself to his feet, dusted himself off and rushed over to her. His mother wrapped her arms around him tightly, brushing his hair away from his face and kissing his forehead._

"_Are you okay peanut?" Piper asked as she picked her eight-year-old up and squeezed him._

_"Mom... you're squishing me." Chris struggled to be let down. "Why'd you bring mom, Wy? If you couldn't find me, I wouldda come home on my own in another half hour."_

"_I…" Wyatt started to explain, but was cut off. He winced at his mother's tone._

"_Let's go." She grabbed Chris' wrist and walked towards Wyatt and D.J. Piper was reassuring herself that her baby was indeed fine. Maybe a little red-cheeked from encroaching sunburn, but he was otherwise unharmed. She smoothed her hands over to his face. Chris wrinkled his little nose at her and looked towards the two older children, both of whom were looking at their feet._

_"Let's go," Piper repeated, "The three of you are in so much trouble." _

_She took her eight year old by the hand and led him away from the edge of the mountain. Wyatt orbed them home. The four of them appeared in the kitchen of the Halliwell Manor in a swirl of brilliant blue and white lights. D.J. made a queasy face at the mode of transportation, but as green as he was after they solidified, even the green drained from his face when he saw what was waiting for them there. In the kitchen sat their fathers._

_"D.J." Derek got up from the table and rushed over so that he could wrap his arms around his child. He pulled his son to his chest, hugging the boy tightly. The man hugged his son and then glared at him "Where were you?"_

_D.J. flinched and bit his bottom lip. "Taiwan." D.J. smiled nervously at his father. "But there's no place like home."_

_"In the truck, now!" Derek barked. D.J. took off running, while his father looked at Piper. "Sorry, but he'll be grounded for quite a while."_

_"Oh, these two will not see the light of day for quite some time," the eldest Charmed One said, narrowing her eyes at her two sons._

_Derek glanced at Wyatt and Chris and left the manor rather quickly. Piper placed her hands on her hips. Leo was now standing behind her with his arms folded over his chest and a stern expression on his face._

_"Mommy, it's my fault. It was my idea." Chris said as he looked up at her with those sad green eyes. She was gonna yell at Wyatt. Chris didn't want her to yell at Wyatt. Wyatt looked at his little brother and smiled; there was no way Piper Halliwell was going to believe that one._

_"You to your room, now! No orbing, you'll walk."_

_Chris flinched and then ducked his head, "Yes, m'am'." _

_As Chris started out of the room, looking over his shoulder at his brother. _

"_GO!" Piper barked. Chris Halliwell hurried out, not looking back again. As he hurried though, he heard his mother address Wyatt, "Now, what in the world were you thinking?"_

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D.J. Anderson stood plastered against the wall in the alley shaking. He'd gotten separated from the Halliwells. His heart was racing and he was perilously close to having a nervous break down. How the hell did he get separated from them? More important at this moment, how did he lose the three Manticores that were coming closer and closer to the alley? This was not exactly the ideal situation. Three Manticores catching a half-manticore that did not belong to the pack was a true death sentence.

"This is not good." D.J. closed his eyes. "I swear I'll never shimmer to Stockholm again, just don't let me die." D.J. whispered. He heard the hissing screech of the Manticores as they entered the alley and spotted him. The teen pressed himself back against the wall and opened his eyes, staring at the approaching demons. He whimpered, staggering back another step away from them when he saw the lead manticore burst into flames. D.J.'s eyes widened as the other two turned to face Wyatt and Chris Halliwell.

"Oh no, not good. Not good at all," D.J. breathed, unable to move from the wall.

Chris threw one of the two remaining Manticores telekinetically and Wyatt blasted it, with no success this time. The demons turned, advancing towards the brothers. Chris waved his hand at them again, forcing them back repeatedly.

"D.J., let's go!" Chris shouted. D.J. gave himself a shake, the fact that he had been saved sinking in and he shoved off from the wall to race behind the brothers. Chris continued using his telekinesis, trying to keep the Manticores back.

"This is not good," D.J. repeated like a skipping download.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked.

"Besides the fact that I think I'm having a heart attack? I'm good," D.J. said, staring into the alley where Wyatt and Chris were barely keeping the Manticores back.

"You two done having a heart to heart?" Wyatt blasted the manticore again with no results. All it did was stagger back angrier than it was before. "Go! I'll catch up."

"Wy?"

"Chris, _shut up and run_," Wyatt ordered.

Chris and D.J. ran and didn't stop until they hit an area where there were a lot of people. Several paused to look at the two raggedly breathing American teens, but minded their own business. Chris moved away from D.J. and raked his hands through his hair.

"Where is he?" Chris asked as he walked out into the middle of the street to look up the block. "Come on Wy."

"I'm sorry, I don't know how I got separated." D.J. took a deep breath, still trying to calm down his horribly frayed nerves.

"Wyatt!" Chris yelled and then saw Wyatt turning the corner as a rather quick pace. "Oh, thank heavens. You okay?"

"I'm just great," Wyatt said sarcastically, "I just blasted D.J.'s great Aunt Betty into bits and Uncle Fred and Barney are on their way to kill us."

"That's funny." D.J.'s lips twitched upwards. He liked the Flintstones reference. It didn't help the fact that he'd nearly had a heart attack, but it did make him feel a little bit better, "Thanks, they would have killed me."

"We know." Chris looked over his shoulder. He blew out a breath as they sat at a bench near a busy restaurant. "We need to get out of the city. If we stay near other people, we risk an innocent getting caught in the crossfire. We're in a lot of trouble." He pulled out the map and looked it over. "It's getting dark again."

"Chris, we'll be fine, you said transport goes back on line in a few hours," Wyatt said. He hadn't forgotten about their interrupted argument, but at least Chris was talking now. Even if it wasn't talking about what Wyatt wanted to discuss his brother _was_ at least speaking again. "We can hide out in the city for a few more hours."

"Wyatt, we have half the underworld looking for us," Chris said, "Now those Manticores have smelled out D.J. which means they are going to be looking for him. Those two will never forget his smell, you know that. He's a sitting duck in this city. We need to get out, now."

Chris Halliwell's eyes studied the map. He could feel Wyatt's eyes on him. D.J. was too busy covering his head with his hands and trying to catch his breath. Chris knew they had to get out of the city, both because of the risk to innocents and because of the Manticores that would now be tracking them with even more zeal to get to D.J. A park on the map caught his eyes.

A door behind them opened and shut and Chris twisted on the bench to look. There was a man there closing up his store for the night. Chris got up and walked over to him, holding out the map, while Wyatt and D.J. stayed on the bench, watching.

"_Förlåta mig. Hur gör vi komma till den här nparkera?"_Chris asked the storeowner in Swedish. He wanted to know how to get to the park.

Wyatt looked at his little brother like he had totally lost his mind. D.J. folded his arms over the back of the bench and smiled slightly. The blonde witch cut his eyes towards his friend questioningly, then went back to staring at his little brother like he'd fallen off his rocker.

_"Det er alt stängt vid tiden du anlända där_," the man informed Chris.

Chris bit his bottom lip. Closed by the time they get there? He continued his conversation with the man, "_Vi var lämna bakom vid vår skola göra en rundresa och vi har till komma fram till fångst vår bussen_."

"_Jag går så pass väg , Jag vill ta du_,"the storeowner said to Chris. He nodded his head to Wyatt and D.J. indicating that he meant to give all of them a ride to their destination. Chris smiled.

"_Tack själv_," he told the man. Chris motioned for Wyatt and D.J. to follow him. Wyatt was still staring at his brother like he'd grown another head, not moving from his spot. Chris smiled at them, "I got us a ride."

"To where?" Wyatt followed his brother and sighed. D.J. patted Wyatt on the shoulder.

"Haga Royal Park," Chris told his brother.

"Is Piper's Park." The man said and looked at Chris. Chris smiled back brightly.

"You speak English?" Chris asked.

"A bit. You speak better Swedish than I English."

"Ahh..., I have a relative who used to live here, she spoke the language fluently."

"Teach you well," the man told him as he unlocked his car. The fellow gestured to the teenagers to climb in as he got behind the wheel.

"Good to hear." Chris said as he got in the passenger side as D.J. and Wyatt climbed in the back seat. "We really appreciate the ride. I'm Chris, this is Wyatt and D.J."

"Fredrik."

"Well, you are a life-saver Fredrik." They drove in silence down the roads until they got to a wooded area and the driver pulled over to the side.

The man looked out the windows, then towards the teens, "Your bus left you?"

"No, I'm sure they didn't. We made better time than I thought. Thank you for the ride Fredrik." They got out and Chris looked around. When Fredrick pulled out and drove down the road Wyatt folded his arms over his chest and looked at his brother strangely. Chris raised an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"When did you learn to speak Swedish?" Wyatt asked.

"I tapped into that whole Whitelighter thing dad always talks about," Chris said.

"Wow, dad will be so impressed. And here you were having trouble in Spanish. You really should have been taking Swedish."

Chris shook his head, leading them into the park, "Never occurred to me to try and tap into that ability for Spanish. I just may try that. Bring up my grade. Mom and dad will be so impressed."

"That's cheating." D.J. sighed angrily; he wished he could do it.

"Not if I can learn to speak it fluently." Chris smiled. He had learned to speak Swedish and with a little concentration he should have Spanish taken care of in no time. Chris Halliwell was a happy camper as they entered the English-style park. "Fredrik called it Piper's Park. Think mom will look out for us?"

"Only you, baby brother, would find a place called Piper's Park," Wyatt said.

"It's actually called..."

Wyatt interrupted his younger brother, "Chris, this is me not caring about the history of the park. If we have a little down time. I'm a happy witch."

"Okay." Chris shrugged his shoulders and walked across the expansive park.

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Chris lay under the tree and closed his eyes. Only a few more hours and they could finally go home. That was his goal, to go home. He looked over at Wyatt who was leaning against a nearby tree. Everyone was exhausted. It had been more than twenty-four hours since they had traveled to Sweden for the concert and they really hadn't gotten any proper rest since they had set foot on this continent. D.J. was already asleep, his idea of an action packed weekend usually involved sitting in the dark watching action movies on the screen.

As for himself, Chris hadn't had this much activity in months, and was feeling every inch that they had run. He stretched out his leg and groaned involuntarily. Wyatt looked at him, blue eyes fixated upon Chris' face.

"I'm fine. Just not used to this much activity yet," the younger brunette told him.

"You're in a lot of pain," Wyatt said, frowning.

"Nothing you can do Wy."

"I can try. I mean, maybe I can get it to the point it was when we got here," the blonde said, pushing off from the tree he'd been leaning against.

Chris shook his head in a negative, "I'll live Wy, don't worry so much."

"I'm your big brother. That's my job," Wyatt told him.

Chris lowered his eyes, still shaking his head. He was still trying to block Wyatt through their link as much as he could, but when he lifted his emerald eyes he had to ask, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Don't feel as weak as I did earlier," Wyatt answered. He rolled his shoulder again and sighed. How his brother dealt with the pain of getting shot as many times as he did, Wyatt would never know. Over an hour after being struck by the Darklighter's arrow and he was still feeling it. But his little brother always popped back up like it was nothing. Wyatt kept his eyes on Chris, even though the younger boy was avoiding his gaze. "We need to talk."

"Wy, I'm tired. I really don't want to discuss it," Chris said.

"So magic stopped the day I was born. That prophecy is nothing but a bunch of rubbish. You matter just as much as I do."

Chris shook his head, still not quite meeting Wyatt's eyes, "_That_ is what is rubbish. I'm just Piper Halliwell's youngest son. No big ta-dahs when I was born." There was silence for a moment, but before Wyatt could say anything else, Chris had continued, "Oh no, I'm sorry. The main thing that happened when I was born was my birth almost killed Mom. Ta-dah!"

Wyatt stared at him and pushed himself up angrily at the sarcasm that Chris' voice held, "Oh, for heavens sake! You're feeling guilty for being born? You need a therapist."

"What I _need_ is for you to realize that if there is a damn arrow coming that _I_ take the arrow!" Chris shouted, meeting Wyatt's eyes for the first time in hours, "If I die, the magical community will go on, business as usual. If you die, I don't even _know_ what happens. The most powerful being in the magical community cannot die."

Chris got up and limped away, hurt and angry. Wyatt saw his younger brother wrap his arms around himself and felt yet another wall form along the already erected mental barrier. This was just getting beyond ridiculous! Wyatt growled and started after him to give him a piece of his mind when he saw the headlights.

"D.J.! Chris! We have company," Wyatt shouted.

"Great." D.J. said as he pulled himself up from the ground. "They couldn't have waited an hour or two?"

"Just move." Wyatt watched the headlights as he followed the younger two teens deeper into the woods surrounding the park.

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**Author's Note**: If you read, please review!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer**: It makes me sad that I have to say this, but, _strikermac_ and I don't own Charmed. We don't own Chris or Wyatt either. We just own our original characters that have joined the cast and of course, this plot and story.

**Author's Note**: Things are going to get extremely hectic for me coming up shortly. They aren't going to slow down, unfortunately until the end of March. So, the next couple of updates won't be nearly as quick in getting to you. I have a gallery show to prepare for, thesis papers to write, and graduation to look forward to. I know _strikermac_ will still be thinking about the stories and working on them, I'll be thinking about them too, but like I said, my 'free time' is going to be very restricted over the next several weeks. I'm glad that all of you have been enjoying the stories thus far, and thank you so much for your continued encouragement!

Oh, Sarah… look at the bright side of the boy's adventure… technically it hasn't happened to your fair city yet, being as this is set in the year 2021. I will say this, yes, the end to the path of destruction in sight. One more official chapter after this one and the epilogue to go!

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The three American teens were running, panting breaths misting fast white plumes into the air. Christopher Halliwell was at the back of the trio, unsure of exactly how far behind them the demons were. Wyatt jumped over a large, fallen tree branch like a track hurdle with D.J. right behind him. Chris grunted when he landed on the other side of it, not nearly as graceful, but he kept going. He wasn't that far past the natural hurdle when he stumbled and fell on the uneven grassy surface. A quick outward thrusting of his hands kept him from too hard of a fall. Right now, with demons chasing them he was just a liability to Wyatt and D.J.

Wyatt stopped quickly and turned when he heard the sound behind him and saw Chris go down. He hurried back to Chris's side and rested a hand on the younger teen's shoulder, "You okay?"

"Can't keep this up Wy. I'm sorry, I just can't," Chris panted out. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and rubbed his leg, nearly in tears. His leg felt like it was on fire. Wyatt was silent, keeping a hand rested on his little brother as he looked around the darkened park. It wouldn't be long before the demons caught up and found them.

"You and D.J. keep going," Chris said quietly.

Wyatt stared at him, "Sure. I'll leave my little brother to the mercy of demons whose main purpose is to kill him tonight. Not gonna happen Chris." Wyatt helped his brother to his feet, frowning as he noticed the careful pressure Chris was putting on his leg.

Chris waved Wyatt's hands off, stubbornly wanting to stand on his own, "I'm holding the two of you back. They are going to find us. Just go…"

"Shut up Christopher," Wyatt said fiercely. "So, we have to fight. You wanted to fight, so now we have no choice. Choose our ground and come up with a plan of attack."

The muscular blonde began to pace, raking his hands through his wavy hair. D.J. took the time to lean heavily against a tree, cleaning fog from his glasses. Wyatt looked at Chris, noticing that the brunette was smiling now as he worked something out in that brainiac mind of his. The older boy narrowed his eyes, "What? I hate that look. That look is never good."

Chris knew Wyatt wasn't going to like what he was about to say, but the sooner he got it out, the sooner he could argue his point and convince Wyatt that it was the best option, "You want a plan of attack? How about using me as bait?"

"You have officially lost your mind," Wyatt said, looking at him with an intense blue gaze that said that he had indeed lost his mind. "No. No Chris. They. Want. To. Kill. You. First," Wyatt said each word so slowly and precisely that it caused Chris to sigh in frustration.

"I _get that_ Wy. It's the very reason that I'm the perfect bait," Chris explained.

Wyatt shook his head. "Mom would blast me into a billion tiny bits."

"This is Piper's Park," Chris said, motioning around them. "We chose our ground. Fate wouldn't be so cruel to kill us in a place named for our mother would it?"

Wyatt Halliwell glared at his brother and looked away. He hated the logic in it and hated even more the fact that his brother always seemed to think about such things before he said them so he had arguments to back his ideas up. Case in point, Chris was looking at Wyatt now.

"Now using me as bait makes sense, don't deny it," Chris said.

"I hate you," Wyatt mumbled.

"I know Wy, I hate you too," Chris said with a smile.

Neither one of them really meant it of course, though Wyatt _did_ hate the idea of Chris using himself as bait. Wyatt rubbed his hand over his face and sighed, "Alright, let's hear the rest of your brilliant plan."

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Victor Bennett smiled as he walked into the manor with bags full of groceries. When the boys stayed over at his place, he and Chris usually made a big brunch. Actually, Chris did most of the cooking, but the point was that they made brunch together. His grandson was a natural in the kitchen just like his mother. Victor nudged the door closed behind him with his foot and walked further into the quiet home.

There was nothing more important to him than all of his grandchildren, but Chris and Wyatt were just really special to him. It might have just been because they were the first grandchildren he had been blessed with and he had spent so much time with them when they were toddlers while their mother and her sisters were battling demons. He had a special bond with those two, and especially with Chris. There was really nothing more he'd rather do than spend time with those two, even when they tricked him at every turn.

"Anyone awake yet?" Victor yelled up the stairs. When there was no answer he sighed. "Oh well, guess I'll wait a bit."

He made his way into the kitchen, putting away the groceries that he'd just purchased. When he was done with that he fixed himself some coffee. Grabbing a doughnut and his paper, Victor ambled into the conservatory and sat down. He'd just have to wait for some signs of life to come from the upper floor.

As he was heading to the conservatory the phone rang. Victor chuckled and set his coffee down on the table so he could grab the phone, "Hello, Halliwell residence."

"Hi Dad, it's me, just calling to say that Leo and I are getting ready to board our plane. I won't keep you long," Piper said.

"Okay honey. The boys are still sleeping, I'll let them know you're on your way," Victor said, "You have a good flight."

Victor hung up and grabbed his coffee.

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"I don't like it Chris. You could get yourself killed. There are too many variables," Wyatt said as he looked at his little brother. The demons only had two hours to kill the two of them before transportation came back and Chris wanted to use himself as bait. D.J. still leaned against the tree, not interrupting and instead chose to gnaw on his lower lip. It was a wonder that he even had a lip left after how many times he had bitten it over the last umpteen hours.

"There are always too many variables. They _are_ demons Wy," Chris retorted, rolling his eyes like his brother was worrying for nothing. "They don't exactly play by the rules."

"Exactly my point," Wyatt said, "One little slip in the plan and I'll be an only child. I'm not looking forward to going home without you, know what I mean?"

"Better me than you Wy. I'm an acceptable loss. Now _me_ going home without you…" Chris trailed off and shivered. When he looked into Wyatt's piercing blue eyes, he shivered again.

"I ever hear you say that again and I'm going to beat the crap out of you. Losing my little brother is _never_ an acceptable loss," Wyatt snapped. He walked over and grabbed Chris by both of his arms, "What do I have to do to convince you that you matter? That you are just as important? Tell me!"

Wyatt shook his little brother slightly, trying to shake some sense into him. D.J. pushed himself off from the tree, no longer leaning casually, but he didn't move any closer than that, watching the exchange. He was startled by it, but this tension had been building between the two since Chris had healed Wyatt and had said that he didn't matter. D.J. knew better than to get in the middle of it.

Chris didn't fight back against Wyatt when the older teen grabbed him, green eyes meeting his brother's blue. He did open his mouth to speak, "You're…"

"You tell me that I am the twice blessed witch and I have to survive again and I swear Chris…"

"You are! You _are_ Wyatt! You're important and you _do_ have to survive! I have no great destiny Wyatt. I have no significant importance in the future of magic. I'm just your little brother and Mom's baby, other than that, I mean nothing!"

Stars exploded behind Chris's eyes as Wyatt punched him, sending him to the damp grass with a thud.

D.J. had grown up with the brothers and in all those years, he had never seen Wyatt harm Chris in any way. Sure, Wyatt had done things to his little brother that now seemed cruel - just typical big brother pranks usually - but never had he hurt him on purpose. That would have been like hurting himself. So when Wyatt punched Chris, D.J. gasped in utter dismay.

"You mean _everything_ you stupid idiot!" Wyatt shouted down at his stunned brother. Then the blonde turned on his heel and stomped off into the darkened woods, shaking his hand out and leaving Chris and D.J. alone.

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Wyatt stormed away into the darkened woods. Once he was a good enough distance away he let out a growl of frustration and kicked a tree. His hands raked through his blonde hair and then he turned, squatting in front of the tree. He'd just struck his brother. He had allowed harm to come to his little brother. Even worse, he caused it. And this time he hadn't been under a spell. Wyatt hit his head off the tree, punishing himself for hurting Chris.

He just couldn't understand how Chris could sit there and say that he didn't matter! It infuriated Wyatt that his brother could think that. Wyatt leaned his head back against the tree again, grinding his teeth together. _How long has Chris felt this way? What the hell am I supposed to do to change his mind? Doesn't he know he's important?_ The problem was that Wyatt doubted anything he said was going to do anything to get through to his stubborn little brother. But even as frustrating as Chris was, he shouldn't have hit him.

Wyatt was glad his hand hurt. He deserved for it to hurt. The only person who could make him feel calm, safe, and sane was also the only person who could infuriate him so completely. Chris was always the one to diffuse things when Wyatt was nearing his breaking point; he'd been the one to bring some sort of truce between Wyatt and his parents after they had failed to trust him back in October. Wyatt dipped his head forwards and sighed heavily.

He'd promised his parents that he'd always take care of his little brother. He had promised that he'd never hurt him.

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_"Have you lost your mind? You allowed your little brother to orb to Tanzania? For a game?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" Piper yelled at Wyatt as the ten-year-old stood leaning sullenly against the refrigerator. Wyatt was staring up at both of his parents with wide blue eyes._

_"You're the older brother, which means you have to take care of him." Leo said, "What if a demon had attacked him while you were playing this little game? Or another of those beings took him to sell him on the black market again?" Leo built off of his wife's argument. There were so many scenarios going through his head right now about what could have happened, "Wyatt, do you have any idea how many horrible things could have happened to your brother?!"_

_Wyatt shrunk back against the refrigerator, "I'm sorry. We were just playin'."_

_"It is a dangerous game Wyatt." Piper said, "You were It, who was looking out for Chris?"_

_"I'm sorry," the boy said "I didn't think."_

_"No, you didn't." Leo looked at his oldest son, anger burned in his eyes. "You are responsible for Chris. If anything happens to him, it is your fault. Chris is special Wyatt, but he's younger and doesn't have as many powers as you do. You have to always remember that you are the older brother and must protect him, look after him!"_

_Piper laid a hand on her husband's arm, then fixed her chocolate gaze on her son, "How long has this little game been going on?" Piper asked. _

_Wyatt looked down at his shoe and chewed on his bottom lip._ _"A while."_

_"How long is a while?" Piper pressed._

_"A couple years."_

_"Years?!" the woman exclaimed._

_"Uh-huh."_

_"How old were you?" Piper demanded, no longer restraining her anger. Not that she had been doing that to begin with. Leo's jaw was clenched so tightly that she could see a muscle jumping in his cheek._

_"Six," Wyatt said quietly._

_All the windows in the kitchen shattered simultaneously as Piper's hands flashed out in shock. "Six? SIX?!" Piper screamed. Oh, she felt like such a horrible mother. Her children had been orbing all over the planet playing games for years and she hadn't even had a clue! _

_"Wait, let me get this straight," Leo said, his voice low as he looked at his son, "You allowed your little brother to orb anywhere in the world… when he was FOUR?" Leo paced the kitchen. Wyatt flinched and ducked his head, both at the shattering glass and the raised voices of his parents._

_Piper touched her stomach, feeling like she wanted to throw up._

_"Go to your room. I'm very disappointed in you," Piper said. "You and Chris are not allowed to play together for a while." She watched Wyatt look up at her with intensely blue eyes. "If you can't be trusted to look after your brother and care about his well-being, you are not allowed to play together. You're old enough to know better Wyatt!"_

_"I'm sorry, I really am mom, but I didn't mean it, I'll look after him, I promise. Don't keep us apart," the boy protested._

_"To your room!" Piper shouted. Wyatt looked panicked as he left the kitchen in a hurry. Piper's hands were still shaking long after her son was out of sight and Leo walked over to wrap his arms around her, "My God, Leo… all the things that could have happened to him… to _both_ of them. I know they're just kids but…"_

"_They're not just kids, Piper," Leo said, "They're witches, but we don't just have demons to worry about… there…"_

"_I don't want to think about it any more right now Leo," Piper said. She moved away, "I'd better go up and separate those two."_

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Wyatt wrapped his arms around himself. He was responsible for Chris. Chris could say that he didn't matter all he wanted, but he _did_ matter. He mattered to Wyatt. He mattered to their parents… Wyatt heard a rustle of some leaves and lifted his head. He looked up and saw the demon approaching him and blasted it. The explosion of the demon into flames brought a nod of satisfaction to Wyatt.

Then Wyatt thought of D.J. and Chris alone and got up quickly. He'd promised to take care of his little brother, and had left him alone again.

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D.J. bit his bottom lip almost hard enough to draw blood. He had nearly tried to remind Wyatt that they were still in a little bit of trouble and that he shouldn't go wandering into the woods alone. But that would have led to Wyatt turning on him as well… and that was even more scary than the demons who were looking for him. Instead he moved over to Chris and bent down, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Chris grumbled. He rubbed his jaw and reached for D.J.'s outstretched hand to get up. "He's just so stubborn!"

D.J. wanted to tell his friend to look in a mirror, but doing so might result in him being turned into a slimy creature and stuffed inside someone's pocket. The Halliwell brothers were more alike than either of them thought.

"It's a good plan. The only one that will allow Wyatt time to blast them," Chris said. He raised an eyebrow at D.J. who was uncharacteristically quiet, "What?"

D.J. eyed the red mark on the side of Chris's jaw and sighed, he moved back over to his tree and leaned against it. "Nothin'."

"You think I'm wrong?"

D.J. hesitated, then said, "Yes and no."

Chris folded his arms over his chest, "Care to explain?"

The half-manticore sighed softly, "I see both of your points of view so I'd rather not get into the middle of this fight."

"You're always in the middle D.J. You're like a brother, so just spit it out," Chris said.

"The plan is good and I agree that it is the best we have. But you do matter Chris," the older teen said, looking towards the younger Halliwell.

"But not like Wyatt."

"You…" D.J. started, but then he saw Wyatt returning. The blonde's jaw was set, his eyes cold.

"We'll go with your plan, but I swear… you get yourself killed and I'll summon you and kick your summoned ass," Wyatt said harshly, not quite looking at Chris.

"Sounds like a plan," Chris sighed, "So can we shelve this argument for now? We have more important things to worry about."

"Fine, but it's not done Chris. Not even close to being done."

Chris looked at his brother and tossed at him, "Never thought it was."

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Victor lifted his coffee cup and took a sip. There was still no sign of any movement coming from upstairs. Victor turned the paper to the next page. Well, Piper had said to let them sleep, so he was letting them sleep. He turned to look over his shoulder with a crease in his forehead and his lips threatening to form a frown. He worried about Chris. Coming home from school to find your parents lying in pools of their own blood at age fourteen was a traumatic experience. It still made Victor feel guilty that he could have said something to prevent it.

Future Chris had told him that Piper died when he turned fourteen. But Piper hadn't died. Nor had Leo… and Chris had come to the past again with Wyatt. Things had changed and had been changed. He had seemed happier then, but having an older brother who wasn't an evil tyrant probably had a lot to do with that. He knew those versions had to have been the very grandsons that were upstairs sleeping right now. The first Chris had changed history and saved his family. That had a lot to do with why Victor felt so attached to the younger of the two brothers. He had given up everything for his family and for the world, and Victor knew the boy sleeping upstairs now would do the same thing if he had to. Victor didn't fully agree with Piper and Leo's decision not to tell their sons about the time traveling Chris that had spent almost two years with them, but he respected their wishes.

He had no idea how his Piper and her husband, or her sisters could keep that from the boys. Victor sipped his coffee again as he settled back onto the couch. Both of his grandsons carried the weight of the world on their shoulders too much. He chuckled to himself though. Piper wanted them to act like normal teenagers, so they had orbed to a bar to hear a band for Wyatt's birthday and had gotten drunk. So what had his daughter done? She had punished them for being normal teenagers. Fair enough that normal teenagers couldn't have orbed into the bar, but where there was a will, there was always a way. "So, they're normal _magical_ teenagers," Victor mused thoughtfully.

The ringing of the doorbell interrupted his reading and he raised his eyebrows, "Now, who could that be?"

Folding his paper, Victor climbed to his feet and finishing off his coffee he walked towards the foyer to answer the door. The bell rang again. Standing on the doorstep was a pretty girl about Wyatt's age. Her sandy hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and there was a sparkle in her brown eyes, she was plucking at a loose thread in her violet sweater when Victor opened the door. She lifted her eyes and smiled.

"Hi, is Wyatt in?" the teenaged girl asked.

Victor raised his eyebrows, "Well, he is, but he's sleeping not to mention grounded until who-knows-when."

The girl looked amused by that, "I don't know that I want to ask what he did to get grounded, but when he wakes up, could you let him know that I came by?"

"Sure," Victor said, "and who are you?"

"Oh, right," she said with a laugh and held out her hand. Victor was surprised by the confidence in her grip as she shook his head, "Andrea Payton. I go to school with Chris and Wyatt. I just wanted to see if Wyatt wanted to go ice-skating, but I guess he can't."

"No, I'm afraid not," Victor said, "I'm Wyatt's grandfather. If his parents weren't going to be home in two hours, I'd have said he could go." Victor smiled, looking towards the street where a young man who looked a few years older than the girl in front of him had just gotten out of a blue SUV to wave at her. Andrea looked over her shoulder as the guy beeped the horn and waved at her.

"Wyatt mentioned you," Andrea said with a smile, "I should get going. My brothers are impatient."

She started quickly down the steps, waving to Victor over her shoulder, "You'll tell Wyatt that I stopped by?"

Victor nodded, shutting the door. He chuckled to himself as he walked back to the conservatory, shaking his head. Normal teenagers. Just what his daughter had always wanted.

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Chris ran. Although, it was more like Chris limped along quickly. The plan had been a complete and total disaster. If he made it through this, Wyatt was going to kill him. He looked over his shoulder and the three demons were catching up rather quickly. As he broke through the brush he ended up at the water's edge and nearly fell in. Chris turned around and inched a bit closer to the water as the demons came through the brush. The three of them laughed chillingly and smiled.

"Finally, we have the little witch." The middle demon produced a fireball and another stepped forward.

"Why do you get to kill him?" the third demon asked with a hiss.

"I saw him first!" the second demon growled.

Chris watched the confrontation and stepped backwards into the water. The cold shot through him like a bullet and caused him to gasp aloud. That brought the demons attention back to him rather than arguing between themselves over who was going to kill him. Chris's foot caught on something beneath the surface of the water. The third demon shot a fireball at Chris just as he fell into the water with an icy splash. The fireball went over his head. Chris stayed under the water as long as possible, holding his breath when he remembered the potions in his pocket.

Until now he had forgotten all about them. He had taken the two vials from his grandfather this morning and stuck them in his pocket, or was that yesterday morning at this point? Not that it mattered. It was a miracle that they weren't broken. He grabbed one and pulled it out and broke out of the surface of the water and threw it at the demons. It struck the first demon, causing it to burst into flames. Then the other two started their assault as Chris dove under water again.

Wyatt Halliwell saw the fireballs and his heart started racing. He and D.J. ran through the woods and toward the water's edge where the demons had Chris trapped. Wyatt's heard was racing. Just as they started toward the brush, D.J. grabbed Wyatt's arm.

"What?"

"He's over there," D.J. gestured. Chris had some how gotten behind the demons and threw the remaining potion at the first demon and then telekinetically tossed the other into the water.

Chris jogged slowly away from the water. He was freezing, shivering from his soaked clothes, but it was nearly worth it to watch the demon flailing in the freezing water. Then he saw his brother and smiled.

"Hey," Chris said as Wyatt and D.J. emerged from the trees and reached him.

Wyatt's blue eyes were blazing, "What the hell was that?"

Chris shrugged his shaking shoulders, "Plan B."

"You're so not funny." Wyatt said as he looked at Chris shivering. "You're going to catch your death."

"What happened to the others?" Chris asked Wyatt and D.J. Only three of the demons had actually given chase after him, but he knew there had been more. The answer to his question came a second later.

"Did you miss me Christopher?" Rebecka asked coolly as she appeared from the tree line. The three teens backed up. The blonde demoness smiled slowly, looking at Chris, "I've been looking for you all weekend. Such a clever little witch, too bad you'll never live to see quite how clever you'll become."

"Guess this is our spot," Chris said through chattering teeth.

Wyatt stood next to his brother, hands coming to a ready position at his sides as he said, "It's as good a place as I any I guess." The three teens stood facing Rebecka and at least twelve other demons. The odds weren't exactly in their favor.

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**Author's Note**: Next Chapter -- the moment you guys have been waiting for, the big battle with the demons. So, what did you guys think of this chapter? Write a review to say what you liked, maybe what you didn't like, what you're expecting from the next chapter… you know the drill: just click the button!


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer**: Do I really need to say this again?

**Author's Note**: The time has arrived… and I hope that when you get to the end of this chapter you'll write a review. I'm going to say this up front, some things may not happen as you expect, but bear in mind that this is a _series_, not to mention _prequels_ for the other series, so we can't reveal everything at once… ahem… on with the chapter. It's a rather long one…

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"D.J. fall back." Wyatt said. He didn't dare take his eyes away from the demons they were facing. He did gesture to his friend to stay behind them with one hand though.

"Who are you, General Patton?" D.J. asked, "I'm not leaving the two of you."

"General who?" Wyatt asked. Then he groaned involuntarily when he realized the words were already out of his mouth. He knew that his best friend would indeed answer the rhetorical question, whether Wyatt wanted to know or not.

"You know, General Patton. The 1970 movie with George C. Scott and Karl Malden that I made you guys watch two weeks ago?"

"Don't remind me," Wyatt said. He shook his head, watching the demons stepping out of the trees as they fell in behind Rebecka. The demons were ready to kill them and here D.J. was talking about a movie that he'd forced them to watch.

"Come on Wy, it's a classic," D.J. said, clinging to the movie knowledge for the simple fact that it was his sole shred to retaining his sanity in this situation.

"Not the best time to be discussing movies D.J." Chris said, his green eyes intently focused on the demons no more than twenty feet away from them. His tongue darted out to moisten his lips. As shivering cold as he was from his dunk in the icy water, he was trying to separate that part of himself to be ready for this battle that was about to take place.

"It's our battle Dee." Wyatt only now looked at his little brother who was flexing his fingers; he was ready for the battle.

"Watch our backs Dee." Chris said as a darklighter let an arrow fly towards him, which Chris promptly raised a hand and moved telekinetically away. The battle had begun. D.J. had no real firepower. They had to protect him.

"Sure. Maybe I could get you a cocktail or hold your jackets for you," D.J. said in utter disgust.

"Make sure we don't end up with arrows in our backs. That's an important job Dee." Wyatt blasted a demon, but the demon didn't explode but became two. "Well hell, that's not fair."

Chris was calculating their odds in his head and he really didn't like them at all. Aside from the first darklighter that had fired at Chris, there were four others, and Rebecka had a crossbow as well. There was a Scabber demon, the two Manticores from the alley that were now eyeing D.J., three human-looking demons, and the demon Wyatt had tried to blow up. Wyatt flicked his wrists at that demon again with the same result. Now instead of just one, the damn thing had become three. The cold from being doused in the water was still soaking into Chris's bones, but he compartmentalized it channeling it into an additional aid for focusing.

D.J. stood just behind the brothers, eyes on the demons that were trying to encircle the three boys. Keeping either of the Halliwells from getting struck by an arrow in this situation wasn't going to be an easy task. His green eyes darted to the Manticores. But only for a short moment as a flicker of movement headed for Chris had him shouting out, "Arrow!"

Chris turned and waved his hand at the arrow, redirecting it back towards the darklighter that had fired it. The demon dodged out of the way and reloaded his weapon. Chris didn't like these odds. Five crossbows. Two arrows were flying towards Wyatt and Chris swept them away, since Wyatt was focused on blasting demons. One of the human-like demons exploded with a scream as Wyatt blew it up and the twice blessed witch went back to the demon that had become three. Chris was seeing the larger picture of the fight though as his brother's narrowed blue eyes focused in on one adversary at a time. The blonde was in his element, thriving on the adrenaline brought on by the battle.

Chris gritted his teeth as he waved away another arrow, this one fired by Rebecka towards him. He'd almost missed it with his glance at Wyatt. D.J. was shouting out arrows and the like, keeping Chris alert. There wasn't any talking from the demons, but Chris could see a delighted glimmer in Rebecka's eyes. _Too bad you'll never live to see quite how clever you'll become._ What the hell did that mean? Chris didn't have time to think about it as he directed a fireball that had been thrown towards Wyatt's head at one of the Manticores. The demon screamed out as it erupted in flames and was vanquished. The brunette didn't have a chance to celebrate, as he had to redirect another arrow. That one had come too close. He'd felt it tug the sleeve of his shirt.

Odds calculated again. One Manticore down. One human-like demon down. That would have brought the number back down to thirteen, if Wyatt hadn't just blasted the multiplier demon two more times. It had split to make a total of five duplicates now.

"Wyatt! Knock it off! You're just making it worse!" Chris shouted as he continued deflecting arrows that were being hurled at them. Another came too close, brushing past his damp hair and D.J. shouted an apology for not having seen that one.

"What the hell do you want me to do?!" Wyatt demanded, blasting the remaining Manticore backwards. It refused to be vanquished by his combustion power.

"Not sure yet. Kill those stupid darklighters to start with," Chris said.

Wyatt flicked his hands at one of the darklighters, causing it to explode. He had his teeth ground together so hard that he was sure that his jaw was going to be aching for the next week.

Chris waved yet another arrow away and it struck one of the multiplier demons, which exploded into colorful lights. His sea green eyes widened. "No! Don't kill the darklighters."

"Kill the darklighters. Don't kill the darklighters. Will you make up your damn mind?!" Wyatt shouted.

Chris ignored his brother's yelling, he always did that under stress. He managed to take out another of the multiplier demons with a redirected arrow, exploiting the weakness of the demon and using its allies against it. The arrows started coming even faster though, so quickly that Chris was having a hard time redirecting them and keeping he and Wyatt safe. Rebecka had a cruelly confident smile on her face as though she could taste victor now as she continued reloading her crossbow again. To Chris's surprise out of the corner of his eye he saw D.J. tackle Wyatt to the ground and turned his head as an arrow went whizzing into a nearby tree.

Wyatt grunted as D.J. forced him to hit the ground and his blue eyes looked at his friend bewildered. "Just making sure you don't do take two of filming your death scene," D.J. said.

Chris looked at his brother and friend to make sure they were all right when a fireball clipped his injured leg at the knee, causing him to hit the ground. His hands went to the wound and he gritted his teeth, now knelt in the grass beside Wyatt and D.J.

This was too much. Enough was enough, "Wy! Shield!"

"I haven't used the shield since we were kids!" Wyatt exclaimed. He waved a hand at one of the darklighters aiming at Chris and was satisfied when it exploded.

"Yeah, well, desperate times," Chris said through gritted teeth, "We're a little outnumbered here thanks to someone getting blast happy on a demon that won't blow up!"

"Yeah, well _excuse_ me for trying to even the odds!"

"You did a great job of that," Chris quipped sarcastically. "Just put the shield up Wyatt," Chris said, waving away two more arrows.

Wyatt was still shouting, adrenaline and frustration fueling it, "I can't blast demons and keep the shield up at the same time Chris!"

"Yeah, well, I think losing your firepower is preferable to the three of us turning into pincushions in light of having a barrier," Chris said.

"Listen to Chris, Wy," D.J. said.

"How the hell are we supposed to vanquish the demons that way? I won't be able to hold the shield until transport comes back on!" Wyatt shouted.

"Just do it," Chris said again, keeping his voice level and even. He'd figure something out. In theory he should still be able to use his telekinesis through the shield.

Wyatt ground his teeth together and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again a shimmering blue bubble had formed around the three of them. A fireball bounced off the newly formed shield and Chris saw D.J. flinch, before the half-manticore blew out a relieved breath.

"Don't look too relieved Dee," Chris said, grimacing, "We're still outnumbered eleven to three."

"You got a plan beyond me holding this shield until I pass out, genius?" Wyatt asked, "Because this? This is not solving our problems."

"I'm working on it," Chris said, turning away from Wyatt to look at their adversaries who were now throwing a volley of demonic powers at the shield. He waved a hand as another fireball approached the shield and grinned when it actually flew back towards its source, igniting the humanoid demon that had thrown it. "Well, that theory worked."

"Theory? _Theory?!_" D.J. exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't know if it would work through the shield," Chris said, "Now, I know it will."

"Do I even want to know what your 'plan B' was for that one?" Wyatt asked, glaring at his little brother.

"No, probably not," Chris said, shaking his head. His 'plan B' would have been getting out from under Wy's protective shield and telling Wy to protect himself and D.J. He doubted his brother would have gone for that idea, but it was a moot point since he hadn't had to try it. "Can you T.K. and hold the shield at the same time?"

Wyatt gritted his teeth, "Not with the amount of firepower hitting it right now. You're welcome to trade places with me."

"Would if I could, Wy," Chris said, realizing it was up to him to even the odds a bit while Wyatt kept the three of them covered. He shifted, and waved his hands again channeling his telekinesis at the oncoming assaults, "Just keep the shield up."

A darklighter arrow bounced off the side of the shield and Wyatt moistened his lips, "I can't hold this forever bro."

Another of the multiplier demons exploded in a shower of colorful sparks, followed by the remaining manticore with a redirected fireball. In spite of being shivering cold, sweat was beading on Chris' forehead from the exertion of using that amount of magic in such a short period of time. Wyatt was struggling to keep the shield up over their heads and D.J. wrung his hands nervously without any idea of what he could be doing to help. He'd contributed by saving Wyatt's neck, but now the fight really was up to the brothers. Wyatt keeping them protected and Chris redirecting the demons powers back at them. D.J. was surprised at how well it was actually working.

"And you say you don't matter," Wyatt growled under his breath as the Scabber Demon met an end as Chris redirected a fireball at it.

"_Not_ the time Wyatt."

"You think I could do this without you?"

"I think you'd figure out how," Chris grunted waving another darklighter arrow towards one of the multiplier demons. The count was back down to one multiplier, one humanoid demon, three darklighters, and Rebecka.

"I think I'd be as good as dead too if you were gone Chris."

"I said this isn't the time to discuss it," Chris wavered slightly, exhaustion was hitting him like a ton of bricks. He sent an arrow fired by Rebecka towards one of the darklighters and it struck, exploding the demon.

"Why do you think they want you dead so bad Chris?" Wyatt demanded, he was feeling exhaustion too, both his own and that radiating from his brother. Chris was getting too tired to even keep the block he had on their link up. "It would tear our family apart to lose you!"

"Shut up Wyatt," Chris said.

"No, I'm not going to shut up until you admit that you're just as important as I am."

"Not going to happen."

"Chris…"

"What're you going to do, Wy? Hit me again?" Chris asked a touch too sharply, "Now is _not_ the time."

Wyatt fell silent as guilt flashed over his features and he concentrated on trying to hold the shield, though now it was becoming progressively more difficult to do so.

----------------------------------------------------------

On the other side of the waterfront clearing, Rebecka waved a hand at one of the darklighters, lowering her crossbow and drawing back from the fight. Her eyes narrowed. This was not how she had envisioned this ending at all. "Go. Someone has to deliver the message to the council," she said coolly.

The darklighter raised his eyebrows and joined her. He protested with a shake of his head, "We can finish them. They can't hold that shield forever. They'll exhaust themselves eventually."

"Look around you, you idiot!" Rebecka snapped, as another of her team of demons met its demise in a fiery vanquish. "Even if they can't keep that shield up forever, we are going to fail."

The darklighter scowled, "You should take responsibility for your own failure."

"I am allowing you to _live_," Rebecka turned to him, eyes glowing red, "Now do as I ask! Someone has to go to the council and report that the plan failed. The witch who will be responsible for the dismantling of the underworld's hierarchy still lives."

Still scowling, the darklighter bowed and turned away into the woods, leaving the scene of the battle. As he left, Rebecka turned her red-glowing eyes back on the battle. Another of the darklighter died in an explosive shower of ash, but to her satisfaction, she saw the younger Halliwell wavering from fatigue. The shield protecting them was flickering too.

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"Three against three," D.J. said, "Much better odds, don't you think."

"I'm wondering where she sent that other darklighter," Chris said.

"Who cares," Wyatt breathed as the shield finally gave out. He just couldn't keep it up any more.

Unfortunately it went down just as another arrow was flying towards them and D.J. got a second chance to play hero. The half manticore grabbed Wyatt and jerked him out of the way, as Chris waved his hand and redirected the arrow. The remaining multiplier demon exploded in a flurry of brilliant lights.

"Three against three are decent odds," Chris said as he collapsed from exhaustion, "But I like two against three a little better."

Wyatt pushed himself up, and flashed his hands at the darklighter. No longer holding the shield, the combustive burst sent the demon into a violent cloud of dust. Rebecka stood there, alone now, and facing the Halliwells and D.J. Wyatt pushed his sleeves up and flicked his hands at her. She didn't explode, but almost as satisfying the blast sent her falling backwards onto her rear.

"You tried to kill my little brother," Wyatt said, blasting her again.

Wyatt moved towards her as D.J. went to help Chris back up. The two younger teens watched Wyatt slowly moving towards the demoness. She was backing away from him, without picking herself up from the ground. He blasted her again and she cried out.

"You've had demons chasing us all over Stockholm," Wyatt's hands flashed again.

Chris exchanged a look with D.J. and leaned against him, watching his brother.

"You tried to _kill_ my little brother," Wyatt repeated with another blast. Rebecka continued to retreat on the ground away from the approaching witchlighter.

"You made me miss half of a great concert," Wyatt's hands flashed and this time the demoness' clothes sparked a bit. She patted them out in surprise and back peddled further until she was pressed against a tree. "You tried to kill _my_ little brother."

"I may not have been successful, but someone will be!" Rebecka screamed.

Wyatt waved both of his hands at her, "I wouldn't count on it."

"This isn't the end," Rebecka shouted and this time when Wyatt's power hit her, she burst into flames with a shriek. His jaw was clenched tight as he stood over the burning demoness.

"It is for you."

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Wyatt sunk onto the damp grass, flopping onto his back once the flames of the vanquished demon died down. He was exhausted. Magic didn't have an endless supply and using the amount that he and his brother just used to fight the demons had drained him. He looked at his watch. It hadn't been nearly as long as it felt. He had already been tired, but now he was beyond tired. Their first real battle as witches though, was now behind them. Looking over at his younger brother, Wyatt saw the slight smile on Chris' lips as the brunette leaned back against a tree. The younger teen was still shivering from his damp clothes, but he was smiling.

"Mom would have a fit," Chris said as he looked over at Wyatt.

"Well, there are just some things that mom doesn't need to know," Wyatt said, "Us battling demons ranks number one on that list."

"Agreed," Chris said.

Wyatt pulled his jacket off and tossed it at his little brother. Chris caught it with one hand and wrapped it around himself, "Don't want you to get hypothermia after surviving all that…"

"Thanks," Chris said, as he looked over at D.J. who looked exhausted himself. Chris leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes, "This was our first _real_ battle alone, and we won."

"We did," Wyatt affirmed, but he wouldn't have been able to do it alone, he doubted now was the time to bring that up again just yet, "You hurt?"

Chris looked at the burn on his knee, which had scorched through his wet jeans and sighed, "A little."

Wyatt crawled over and held his hands over his little brother's knee. The golden glow appeared from his hands, knitting the wound back together and even stitching the younger teen's jeans back as if there had never been any damage.

Chris looked at Wyatt with alarm as the glow stopped, "What did you do?"

"I healed you," Wyatt said, drawing his hands away. Rolling his eyes he sat beside his brother.

"No. You _really_ healed me. The knee feels almost normal. My whole leg feels almost normal again," Chris said. Even the darkened mark on the side of his face from where Wyatt had hit him earlier was gone. He bent his knee and got up. Chris' tongue darted out and then he pursed his lips, brow furrowing, "Ah, Wy, the physical therapist is gonna notice when I go from ninety percent to one hundred percent in a week…"

"You'll have to act hurt then," Wyatt said with a smile. He could see that the pain that had been in Chris' eyes for the last several hours was gone. The blonde shrugged his shoulders and looked skyward, "Guess they figured you had been through a lot this weekend."

"A bit," Chris said with a small smile, "Wow, I feel good." He walked over to D.J. who had fallen asleep, then back to sit down next to Wyatt again. "Poor guy has had a tough weekend. And when he gets home, his dad is going to kill him."

"Mmmm…I can't wait to sleep," Wyatt said, thinking of his bed waiting for him back at the Manor.

"We _have_ been sleeping, if you remember the spell," Chris said.

Wyatt stared at Chris and then made a face, "Are you telling me, we have to appear well rested?"

"Or we could just appear sick," Chris offered.

"Sick, yes, I like sick." Wyatt leaned back against the large tree next to Chris. He smiled and closed his eyes, "Hey Chris?"

"Yes?" the brunette asked.

"Sorry for everything…" Wyatt said softly. He chose not to bring up the issue of importance again, but it was still in the back of his mind. Instead he offered a quietly spoken, "You did good this weekend."

"You too Wy. Thanks for the whole knee healing thing, even though mom is going to murder you." This time Chris didn't bother to tell Wyatt not to apologize, he just pretended like he didn't hear it.

"I'll handle mom. I'll just tell her you fell down the stairs and cut open your knee and I forgot," Wyatt shrugged his shoulders and dozed off.

Chris looked at his watch and smiled. He wrapped his arms around himself, pulling his brother's jacket tighter, shivering. About forty minutes and they could go home. Mom and Dad's plane landed in five minutes. So after getting their luggage and the car ride home they should be there in forty-five minutes to an hour depending on traffic. That was, unless their plane landed early, then they were screwed.

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Piper Halliwell stood with her arms folded over her chest as she and her husband stood awaiting their luggage to finally surface. She sighed heavily, blowing a strand of hair away from her face. Despite the fact that they had been unable to orb, she still had this nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right with her sons. Sure, it might have just been her mothering instincts on alert since they had been on the other side of the country, but she still couldn't wait to get home.

Leo smiled at his wife and wrapped an arm over her shoulders. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, causing her to sigh again. "Piper, they're fine. Stop worrying."

"I know. I just can't wait to see them," Piper admitted, "I hate being away from them."

"Well, you're going to have to get used to that honey. Wyatt's going off to college in the fall and Chris won't be that far behind."

The chocolate-eyed woman frowned. "Don't remind me," she said, turning her frown upon the carousel that was still not producing her luggage. She didn't want to think about the fact that her two little angels were growing up and were going to soon leave her with an empty nest. Wyatt had already started bringing home college applications from his guidance counselor.

"Honey." Leo saw the look in his wife's eyes and pulled her over to a bench, pulling her into his lap. "They're good kids. You really shouldn't worry so much."

"I'm a mother. It's my job," she said. She spotted her bags and jumped up quickly. Leo followed her. As Leo grabbed their bags from the carousel, Piper continued, "Plus, it's not like all I have to do is worry about sneaking into bars. They're special. There is so much more to worry about."

"They are your sons," Leo said, dropping one bag on the floor next to her before he snatched the other one off, "They can take care of themselves."

Piper made a face at him, "That really doesn't make me feel any better."

"The demons couldn't get into the house this weekend, so stop worrying," Leo said.

Piper covered quickly as an elderly lady raised her eyebrows at him. She flashed the woman a smile, "Demonstrators. He meant demonstrators."

The two of them started walking with their bags towards the exit and Piper swatted him, "What's the matter with you?"

"She didn't know what I meant," Leo said.

"You're the one that's always reminding me about exposure," she hissed at him.

"I just want you to stop worrying about the boys."

"I'll feel a lot better when I can actually see our sons and make sure that they didn't get themselves into any trouble," Piper remarked.

"Honey, they're our sons. They are always in trouble," Leo said with a smile. The truth be told, he couldn't wait to get home either.

"Thus, my point," Piper said as they headed towards the parking garage.

----------------------------------------------------------

Chris opened his eyes. He was leaned against his brother and as he straightened and stretched he looked at Wyatt and D.J. He didn't feel the stiffness or pain that he had felt in his leg since October. Then remembering Wyatt healing him he smiled. The smile quickly turned to alarm as he looked at his watch. He had overslept. Transport went back on line ten minutes ago.

"Wy, D.J. time to go home!" Chris shouted.

"We can leave?" D.J. asked, groggily. He looked at Chris as he got on his knees and stretched.

"You should shimmer home quickly or your dad is going to kill you."

"Thanks for an exciting weekend. Next time, don't invite me, huh?" D.J. said. He shimmered away and Chris smiled.

"Almost feel bad for the poor guy," Wyatt said as he stretched.

"We got to go. Mom and Dad at their earliest are already home."

"Oh crap," Wyatt said.

The pair of them orbed and finally arrived home. Chris quickly reversed the spell, grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom for a shower. He had half the dirt and grime from every alley in Stockholm all over him.

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Derek Anderson had waited all weekend to see his son, to make sure he was safe. So when he saw him shimmer into the living room, he grabbed him into a tight hug before he was even completely there yet. D.J. looked up at his father and knew after his Dad finished hugging the daylights out of him, he was going to be in a lot of trouble.

"Where were you?" Derek demanded, still holding onto his son.

"I was watching this Grease Film Festival, forgot about the time and then I couldn't shimmer home. I'm sorry Dad."

Derek moved away from his son, stalking to the other side of the room and D.J. braced himself for the explosion. He was eternally thankful that his father was just a mortal and couldn't _actually_ cause things to explode. Still, his father was no joke.

"There's this little device invented over a hundred years ago called a telephone. You do know how to work one of those, right?" Derek yelled. D.J. winced as Derek threw the phone at his son. D.J. caught it and swallowed hard as he dropped it onto the sofa behind him.

"Ah, it never occurred to me. Plus, I ran out of money." D.J. started towards the kitchen, ducking his head and trying to avoid his father's icy stare, "I'm starving."

"Oh, no pal. This isn't over," Derek grabbed his son's arm and spun D.J. to look at him, "Where were you? I had no idea where you were. I didn't know if you were hurt or dead!"

"I'm sorry," D.J. mumbled. He looked at his dirty sneakers and spared a glance up at his father before he returned the glance quickly back to the floor.

"Oh, _so_ not good enough," Derek said, "Look at you! You were in the underworld again, weren't you?"

"No sir," D.J. said hastily, "I swear I wasn't." He looked up to see worry in his father's eyes.

"Then why do you look like you've been rolling in the dirt?"

"Ah, a few Manticores sort of had me cornered and I had to get away from them," D.J. said telling a half-truth. D.J. thought of Chris' goal to not lie unless it was necessary.

"Manticores? At a Grease Film Festival?" Derek asked, now looking at him like he was lying.

"Afterwards. They didn't catch me though."

"Thank the heavens! Do you have any idea what would have happened to you?" Derek asked. The thought of Manticores getting their hands on his son made him sick. Not after all he had gone through to get his son back as a baby… after all these years of trying so hard to protect him.

"I do, Dad," D.J. admitted, "And I won't lie and tell you I wasn't terrified."

"I can't punish you for not being able to shimmer. According to Piper that was a magical thing. But you're grounded for not calling. Even if you ran out of money, you could have always called collect."

"Collect? Never occurred to me," D.J. still didn't think he was lying. He really hadn't thought about calling collect. Even though he couldn't have called at all without exposing the three of them.

"To your room." Derek pointed at his son, "Don't even _think_ of shimmering off, or I swear I'll have Piper make some sort of binding potion."

"I won't," D.J. said frowning. His dad talking to Wyatt's mom always made him nervous. It always made D.J. feel like they were cooking up ways to punish them for normal teenage stuff.

Derek pointed again, "Your room. Now."

"I'm hungry," D.J. whined.

"To your room NOW young man!"

"Yes, sir," D.J. said, lowering his head. He walked towards his door and turned to his dad. It had become a little joke between the two over the years and he knew his father would miss it if he didn't say the line, "Hey, Dad? There's no place like home."

Derek glared at his son and threw a pillow at him as the teenager ducked into his room. The pillow bounced harmlessly off the door as Derek shook his head. The man smiled in spite of himself, _no place like home. Little brat._ Derek walked over and picked up the phone and dialed the Halliwell's number to let Piper know D.J. had made it home safe and sound.

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"Halliwell residence." Victor answered the phone as he finally heard signs of life from the second floor of the manor.

"Is Piper there?"

"Derek, right?"

"Yes."

"They are just walking in the door. Hold on." He cupped the end of the phone. "Welcome home honey. Derek is on the phone."

"Oh, I hope D.J. made it home." Piper dropped her purse and carry-on and took the phone. "Derek?"

"He's home."

"Oh thank heavens, I was just worried sick."

"He went to a Grease film festival and got stuck where ever he was. Said he forgot to call."

"Grease? That boy." Piper smiled affectionately and shook her head.

"Said a few Manticores had him cornered though."

"Oh my, is he hurt?"

"No. He's fine," There was a pause, "He says he's starving though. Thanks for your concern."

"Oh Derek, you know Leo and I love him like our own. Thanks for letting me know he was alright, and I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, guess I'll go make my starving son lunch." He hung up and Piper heard the shower shutting off upstairs.

"Just getting up?" Piper looked alarmed as she looked at her father.

"You said to let them sleep. So I did. I think I'll go start lunch now. I'm glad you're home honey." Victor walked toward the kitchen and Piper looked up the steps and went up to see her boys while Leo finished bringing the bags in.

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Chris walked out of the bathroom and Wyatt nearly ran him over trying to get in. Just as the door closed, Piper Halliwell appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Hi honey," she said, "Your grandpa said you slept, but you look exhausted." Piper hugged her youngest, then brushed her thumb over his cheek where just an hour ago a bruise had appeared. Unnerved that his mom had chosen just that spot to touch, he took a step back.

"Think I'm getting sick. I just feel so tired," Chris said. He looked away, and then rubbed his eyes. He hated lying to his mom. But what she didn't know wouldn't kill her. Wyatt was right, it was better that she didn't know. "I'm hungry though."

Piper pressed her hand to his forehead, smoothing his shower-damp hair back away from his head, "You're not warm." Well, not abnormally so. "Well, grandpa is waiting downstairs. He wants to make lunch since you two apparently missed breakfast and brunch."

"Translation, he wants me to make lunch," Chris said, with a small smile, "I'll go down."

Chris turned and started walking towards the steps. As much as he wanted to just bask in the comfort of being home safe and with his mom, he was starving.

Piper's brow furrowed as she watched Chris. "You're not limping," she observed.

"Feeling a lot better. I missed you mom." He smiled that famous smile of his and as always his mother melted. The fact that he didn't even have the slightest limp was forgotten.

"I missed you too," Piper said. She frowned, wondering if they were both getting sick. She was waiting in the upstairs hallway, when Wyatt stepped out of the bathroom, she shook her head at the sight of him, "You're getting sick too?" She touched her eldest son's cheek and frowned with concern.

"I missed you mom," Wyatt said, hugging her tightly.

"I know I was missed. I heard that from your brother. I'm thinking I should keep you two at home tomorrow. I don't like how exhausted the two of you look."

"I just feel so drained," Wyatt said as he rubbed his neck. He could hear Chris chuckling in the kitchen and knew it was at him and not at whatever his grandfather had just said. It was the truth, he did feel completely drained.

"Are you hungry?" Piper asked.

"Starved actually."

"Well, Chris said he's making lunch."

"Good. Grandpa's not making his famous omelets is he?" Wyatt asked, starting for the stairs.

"Unless Chris managed to convince him otherwise, I'm afraid so."

"Oh well, I guess I could manage to humor him."

"Well, tomorrow for dinner, I'm going to fix this really great dish. A friend of mine in New York gave me a different recipe that I want to try."

"What are we having?"

"Swedish meatballs."

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**Author's Note**: Ah, now all that's left is the epilogue. It may be a while before we actually begin the next _Pre-Destined_ story "Eyes of Light" due to my upcoming show. I did want to complete this story though, so as not to leave you all hanging in the intermission. We have quite a few more stories planned after "Eyes of Light". Anyway, before I start rambling on and on, I'll just say it and get it over with -- review!


	14. Epilogue

**Disclaimer**: I shouldn't need to remind you that _strikermac_ and I don't own Charmed or Chris and Wyatt, but I'm doing it anyway. We don't and we're not making any money on this little piece of fiction. We're just entertaining our muse.

**Author's Note**: Oh, Sarah! Please do share your recipe! I love to cook. I'd love to surprise my husband with a new recipe. I'm glad you can breathe again now that the boys are safe and sound. We can too, because it means now that this Epilogue is posted, we can move on to the next story -- and shift our focus to Episode Two of _Destined_. To answer your questions, yeah, healing Chris' leg was a long time coming, but don't worry about Wy getting in trouble with the Elders over it. They did decide that the poor kid had been through enough. About time too! Suffering for four months... (Guess you can tell I'm not a huge fan of the Elders, eh?) As for Piper and the boy's clothes… well, I'm sure when she checks their laundry she'll demand to know why those clothes are wrecked, but that hasty jump into the shower when they got home saved their butts. For now.

For those of you who have asked for further elaboration on some things, well, it would ruin it if we just gave you the full and complete story all at once. Expanding further upon the significance of certain things falls into that. So, you'll have to take what's given to you, hypothesize (some of you are making interesting guesses - I won't say whether you're right or not), and enjoy the journey of the stories.

So, now that I've rambled as I seem to have an easy time of doing, I'll share the epilogue with you!

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Victor Bennet stood back and watched his grandson move around the kitchen with a smile. The boy was so much like his mother that at times it was scary. The scents of the food that the sixteen-year-old was making were now filling the kitchen. Chris shook the pan and flipped the omelet into the air and caught it again with a small smile over his shoulder at his grandfather.

"Show off," Victor said with a fond smile, "You look tired."

"I feel tired," Chris said. He was indeed exhausted, but he was also incredibly glad to be home.

Leo stepped into the room, having just finished carrying all the bags into the house. He walked over to Victor and shook his hand, "Thanks for staying with the boys Victor."

The old man leaned against the counter again, "Any time."

Piper entered the kitchen next to join her husband and father. She smiled when she saw her son cooking over the stove, but it dipped towards a frown again as she followed his movements. He just looked completely exhausted. She was definitely going to keep them both home from school tomorrow. Wyatt shuffled into the kitchen behind his mother.

"So, what's for lunch?" the blonde asked.

"Grandpa bought breakfast stuff, so I'm making omelets," Chris answered, sliding an omelet onto a plate for his grandfather and setting it to the side.

"Least grandpa's not making them." Wyatt grabbed a handful of grapes and sat on the counter. He was ravenous. Wyatt had no idea how Chris could stand there, making food for everyone else, knowing how hungry he was. _You've got more willpower than I do little brother_. Chris smiled over his shoulder at Wyatt.

"Hey, I make excellent omelets," Victor defended as he watched Chris chuckle.

"We're going to go carry our stuff upstairs," Piper said. She stepped over and kissed Chris's cheek, "My little executive chef in training."

"I'm going to be a photographer," Chris called after her, smiling as mother and father left the kitchen. She encouraged his culinary skills, but that wasn't where Chris' heart lay. Actually, he was starting to question photography too lately, but then he really didn't know what else he would want to do. He still had time to think about it though. His grades were good enough for him to go into any field he wanted to.

"Yeah, I'll write the articles and you take the pictures," Wyatt said, popping the last of the grapes in his mouth.

Victor looked at Wyatt. "So, your mom says next weekend that the two of you can come over my place. I was thinking that the company has this apartment that I can use any time I want. So, how about the three of orb there and spend the weekend?"

"I'd love to grandpa, but I've got me a date," Wyatt said, raising his eyebrows up and down. With the stressful weekend behind him, the twice-blessed witch was already looking forward to the week ahead. Valentine's Day was exactly one week away next Sunday. Saturday night, he had plans. Wyatt slid off of the counter and walked over to the refrigerator.

Chris didn't look up from the omelet he was just finishing, but he directed a thought to his brother. _A date? With the girl that about twenty-something hours ago you weren't thinking about at all? Demon breath. Be sure to floss tonight._

"Ah yes, Andrea." Victor nodded thoughtfully.

Wyatt shot Chris a dark look. He spun his head towards his grandpa, mouth hanging agape in surprise, "How do you know about Andrea?"

"I have my ways," Victor said with a smile.

"Meaning my snotty little brother has been talking about me," Wyatt accused with a look at Chris. _I ought to tie you up with dental floss. We're not even going steady! _

"Hey, it wasn't me." Chris sneered as he plated Wyatt's omelet and handed it to him.

"It wasn't Chris." Victor smiled at Chris. "It seems Andrea wanted to see you this weekend, but you were asleep."

A grin lit Wyatt's face and Chris rolled his eyes when he saw it. She had come over to see him? Chris made a gagging motion before turning back to finish making the food.

Wyatt closed the refrigerator and his eyes widened. "You didn't tell her that I was grounded did you?"

"As a matter of fact I did," Victor said.

"Oh man!" Wyatt ran his fingers through his damp hair.

"She's pretty, your An-drea..." Victor dragged her name out and Chris smiled.

"An-drea's all he ever talks about these days." Chris dragged her name out as well and Wyatt growled. Chris slid and omelet onto a plate for himself and turned off the stove.

"When you go and get yourself a girlfriend, I'm going to make your life absolutely miserable." Wyatt glared at his younger brother who handed Victor a plate. Wyatt grabbed the jug of milk from the refrigerator and poured himself a glass before he hopped up to sit on the counter again.

"I'll just have to keep my love life private then, won't I?" Chris asked with a grin. "So grandpa, where is this apartment?"

"Stockholm, Sweden."

Wyatt spit out the milk he had just taken a drink of and was choking on it while laughing. Chris paled slightly and glared at his brother. Wyatt continued laughing, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"What's the joke?" Victor asked, confused.

"He's crazy. It sounds like fun grandpa," Chris said.

Victor took his plate and a cup of coffee out of the kitchen, shaking his head.

As soon as Victor was out of the room Chris threw an apple at Wyatt. "So not funny."

"Hysterical," Wyatt said as the apple disappeared in a flurry of orbs and reappeared in his hand. Wyatt fell off the counter and landed with a thud, still chuckling. "Stockholm."

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Piper watched from the doorway of the dining room as her sons walked in to sit at the table with their grandfather. There was a bittersweet smile on her face. They weren't her little boys anymore. They were a heartbeat away from being adults. Leo came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Look at them Leo. Just yesterday they were little boys. What happened?" Piper asked softly, leaning back against her husband.

Leo rested his chin on her shoulder and said, "They grew up."

"When did that happen? I mean, it seems like they were just little and now..." She sighed heavily. "They don't need us anymore Leo."

"Of course they do," Leo told his wife. The two boys and Victor were enjoying some entertaining conversation by the looks of things, not noticing they had an audience. Wyatt looked like he was on the receiving end of some good-natured teasing from his brother and grandfather. It was a nice little picture.

"No. Since October, have either of them come to you for anything?" Piper asked.

"You mean besides money?"

She smiled, yes, she'd even miss that when her boys were gone, "Yes, besides money."

"No," Leo answered.

Piper's bittersweet smile returned, touched more with sadness as she watched her sons, "They've closed ranks on us Leo."

Leo kissed her cheek, "They're good kids Piper. We did good. Of course they're a bit mischievous. But overall we raised two good kids. If they need us, they'll come to us."

"If you say so." Piper leaned against her husband. They'd never be her little angels again. They were now grown, and all she could do now was watch from the sidelines.

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It was so deathly silent as the darklighter known as Sardon rounded the corner that he almost didn't want to continue any further without removing his boots or holding his breath. The only sound that stretched ahead of him for what seemed like miles was the soft crackle of flames from torches that hung upon the rock walls. The flames danced off of moisture upon the rocks, reflecting their orange and amber light and refracting it. No one ventured into this part of the underworld unless they had a very good reason. Only those who had specific tasks here dared to even set foot along these passages.

Sardon had never walked these passages before and now he wished that the task had not been left up to him. He had heard far too often of the fate messengers sent here. Messengers sent to the council had a bad habit of not being seen again if their news was not good. The news he carried, of a failed mission, could not be considered good by even the most optomistic of beings. Sardon was not looking forward to this. Even knowing that Rebecka had been vanquished was not enough of a consolation. He would be joining her in the wasteland soon unless he was granted mercy. The council never granted mercy.

Squaring his shoulders, Sardon continued forward. His footsteps echoed along the empty corridors. It seemed to him that the closer he came to his destination, the colder it became. There was a bone numbing frost in the air, yet his breath did not mist in front of him as he would have expected from the chill. Long stretches were cloaked in darkness between the torches and the further he went, the fewer torches there were.

The last several feet of Sardon's jouney were in pitch dark, until he reached the two torches that lit the massive chamber doors. They were large enough for a small army to ride through, tall, wood and iron things with ornamental carvings. As Sardon stepped into the light it was the carvings that caught his eye. Figures were posed in twisted contortion, their limbs intertangled with chains and vines as they were depicted in tormented anguish. The hair on the back of Sardon's neck rose as he realized that the tortured imagery sculpted into the doors was actually moving. The figures were writhing, lifelike, in agony. He took a step back.

As Sardon contemplated fleeing, two swirls of black orbs formed into a pair of fellow darklighters on either side of the massive entrance.

"They wait," the darklighter on the left said as he nodded to the other. Together they reached for the door's handles and pulled them open to permit Sardon's passage inside. Sardon's mouth went dry at the sound the opening doors made. A plaintive child's cry of misery sounded, died away and was silenced as the doors were fully opened. There was nothing left to do but enter.

Sardon looked at the two darklighters holding the doors and saw no sympathy in their eyes. He had expected none. The interior of the chamber was darker even than the last stretch of hallway he had passed through to arrive at this place. The only light was from torches by the door that he had just entered through. It left the rest of the room obscured by shadow, including the seven imposing figures that were seated at a long table. Sardon drew in a breath and stepped forward into the center of the room.

Behind him, the door slammed shut with an intimidating boom that caused him to flinch. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw who had closed the door. Not the darklighters that had opened them from outside, but rather a pair of demons that most in the underworld avoided. Seven-feet tall, their frames were hidden beneath voluminous black robes. Hoods were drawn up, but they didn't hide the bone-white faces of the two Reapers. Each of them held a long scythe in their ivory hands and the sound of the blades slicing through the air as the pair crossed them in front of the door would have unnerved the most courageous of demons.

Sardon was already unnerved. Seeing them there as guards for the chamber only made matters worse. Other demons avoided them because of their eating habits. They cared not who their victims were. They would take a demon just as soon as they would a mortal and now they were barring his exit from the chamber. He tore his eyes away from the Reapers to look at the seven members of the council.

"You failed," one of the council members stated. It was a voice like icy, chilling notes audible in the two syllables spoken.

Sardon dropped to his knee and bowed his head forward. He could feel the eyes of the council members on him, but the feeling of burning eyes on the back of his head terrified him just as much. He dreaded having to give the answer that he knew he must and the word came out a barely audible whisper, "Yes."

"The heir and the brother still live," another voice, this one female, hissed.

"Yes," Sardon answered without lifting his eyes.

"You understand what that means," a third voice stated rather than questioned.

"You know the consequences of failure," the icy first voice spoke again.

"Someone must pay for failure," yet another of the seven spoke, "Where is she?"

Sardon swallowed, his mouth had long since gone dry, "The older witch vanquished her."

"You have failed us Sardon," the third voice said.

Sardon lifted his eyes in time to see a gesture made by the council member seated at the center. His breath hitched in his throat when he heard the movement behind him from the door and stood up quickly. Not quickly enough as two boney hands latched onto either of the darklighter's arms. He looked wild-eyed at the faces of the Reapers. They were both smiling, bare skulls showing pointed canine teeth as their empty black eye sockets filled him with fear. "NO!"

Sardon struggled as the two drug him towards the doors to exit, screaming the entire time, "Vanquish me! You can't do this! NO! Please!" The doors screamed open again and Sardon was dragged mercilessly from the chambers, his screams echoing down the empty hallways pleading for mercy. The doors slammed shut again, leaving only the council in the flickering torchlight.

"Failure."

"This was our best opportunity. He'll get stronger. _They_ will get stronger."

"There will be other chances."

"There is still time."

An icy cold wind ripped through the council chamber, causing the flames of the torches to flicker. The flames guttered and then were extinguished, plunging the room into complete blackness. The seven figures of the council all drew in audible gasps and fell silent and still. There was not even enough light left in the room from the small sliver beneath the doors to allow one to see their hand in front of their face. All seven held their breath. The only sound the disrupted the stillness was the slight rustle of someone moving through the room. A voice whispered just behind one of the council members, brushing against their neck.

"And the wild regrets and the bloody sweats None knew so well as I: That he who lives more lives than one, More deaths than one shall die," a voice that was as chilling and smooth as silk falling over steel interrupted that silence. Silence hung over the room again as the unsettling quote remained in the air. The voice spoke again and held the rapt attention of the council, "Oscar Wilde."

The seven, seated figures looked into the impenetrable darkness, straining for a glimpse of the figure as they heard the movement of rustling clothing again. Even the thin sliver of light from beneath the door was blocked out now that the speaker was standing in front of the table. He was only a darker, sinister silhouette in a sea of blackness.

"The younger witch must die," the hidden man spoke again, stating it as casually as one might say that it is raining. The seven figures at the table nodded in agreement, not even daring to make so much as a sound. There was movement in the shadows, an imperceptible shift with the eye, but the rustling sound of clothing indicated it. The man's unnerving tone spoke with command, "We must determine our next course of action."

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The sun was setting over San Francisco, California. It was setting over a long weekend, painting the sky with lavenders, sapphires, roses, and oranges before finally burning into a brilliant gold and vanishing beneath the horizon. Wyatt Halliwell sat at his desk in his bedroom, looking at his ticket stub from the concert with a frown. His grandfather had left an hour ago.

Chris lay on Wyatt's bed with his hands clasped behind his head, looking up at the stars stuck to the ceiling. Neither one of them was saying anything, nor had they sad anything in the last hour. Both teens were simply trying to absorb and process all that had happened in the last couple of days.

Wyatt's thoughts kept circling back to one thing in particular. Even though they had had a moment of levity and Chris had been teasing him about Andrea and every other girl that he had ever set eyes on, there were a few things that had happened that just weren't going to go away so easily. Wyatt wasn't going to just pretend that some things hadn't happened or hadn't been said. Wyatt was still angry with his brother for his stubborn refusal to accept that he was just as important. Guilt was gnawing at Wyatt.

"Quit feeling guilty, Wy. It's over," Chris said, breaking the silence between them.

"I'm…" Wyatt started, turning around in his desk chair.

"You apologize and I'm out of here."

"Okay, then. There's still some things I want to talk about," the older boy said.

Chris propped himself up on his elbows, "Like what?"

"Why they wanted you dead first," Wyatt said, "I mean, I was with them for most of the time we were there and I obviously wasn't in my right mind. They could've killed me at any time easily, but they seemed more worried about killing you."

"I doubt I'll have another chance to say this, ever, so I'm going to say it now: I'm sure you're just over thinking this Wyatt," Chris said, dropping back onto the bed. He closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "They just saw this as an opportunity to take us both out. Besides. We took care of them."

Wyatt frowned and looked at the ticket stub again, before he tucked it into his desk drawer. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Chris smiled wryly, without opening his eyes, "I usually am."

Wyatt snorted. The fact that Chris thought he didn't matter was still nagging him, but Chris had seemed to file it away for now and it didn't appear to be bothering the younger teen any longer. Wyatt had just resolved to try to prove Chris' importance to him, he knew with as stubborn as his little brother was, it wasn't going to happen over night. "You know, we could be a journalistic team to be reckoned with if you really do decide to go into photography."

"We'll see," Chris said, a yawn cracking his jaw, "Hey, Wy?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you brush your teeth yet?" Chris asked, cracking his eyes open with a small smile.

"Little brat," Wyatt said with a playful growl. He grabbed a piece of paper from his desk, balled it up and threw it at Chris. Then he got up.

"Where you going?" Chris asked, sitting up.

Wyatt rolled his eyes, "To brush my teeth!"

Chris laughed and settled back on Wyatt's pillow to wait for him to return from taking care of his oral hygiene. He succumbed to another yawn and rolled onto his side, fluffing up the pillow and making himself comfortable. Wyatt would probably wake him up when he got back to tell him to go sleep in his own bed. Chris was out like a light when Wyatt returned. The older boy stood in the doorway and smiled seeing the steady rise and fall of his brother's chest.

Quietly, Wyatt walked over and pulled the covers over his brother, tucking him in. Then without a word, grabbed his sleeping bag from his closet and laid it out on the floor next to his bed and crawled into it. He twitched a finger at the light switch, telekinetically turning it off.

It was only about ten minutes later that Piper and Leo cracked open the door, looking in on their two sons.

Piper smiled, thinking about them sleeping in the same room even after the two of them wanted rooms of their own. The sliver of light that fell into the room from the opened door showed her that Chris was asleep in Wyatt's bed. Her older son was laying on the floor next to him.

Leo smiled, "Your sons."

Piper shook her head and wrapped her arms around him. "No. _Our_ sons." Then she closed the door to the room quietly.

Wyatt cracked his eyes open and propped himself up on an elbow, looking towards the door. He looked up at Chris resting peacefully on the bed and smiled slightly, "Good night."

"Night Wy," Chris mumbled, still mostly asleep.

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**Author's Note**: With that, the second full story of the _Pre-Destined_ series comes to a conclusion. Look for the next episode of the prequel series "Eyes of Light", coming soon. Thank you all so much for reading and thank you even more for all of your inspiring reviews!


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